The Nigerian equities market closed the holiday-shortened trading week on a downward note, with a loss of ₦207 billion in market capitalisation, driven by mixed investor sentiment and low participation amid ongoing earnings releases and dividend declarations.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) operated for only four trading days during the week, as the Federal Government declared Friday, April 18, and Monday, April 21, 2025, public holidays to mark the Easter celebration.
Consequently, the NGX All-Share Index dropped by 0.32% to settle at 104,233.81 points, while market capitalisation fell to ₦65.499 trillion from the previous week’s ₦65.706 trillion.
According to the NGX weekly report, total turnover stood at 1.525 billion shares worth ₦43.006 billion in 51,156 deals. This marked a significant decline from the 2.094 billion shares valued at ₦52.967 billion traded in 64,612 deals the week before, reflecting reduced market participation due to the shorter trading window.
The financial services sector remained the most active, contributing 1.122 billion shares valued at ₦24.015 billion, representing 73.56% of the total volume and 55.84% of total value. The ICT sector followed with 101.252 million shares worth ₦4.819 billion, while the services industry recorded 99.776 million shares valued at ₦1.230 billion.
Top equities by volume for the week included Access Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and Universal Insurance Plc, which jointly accounted for 448.105 million shares worth ₦6.730 billion across 6,481 deals—29.39% of total volume and 15.65% of total market value.
Despite the weekly decline, market breadth slightly improved, with 31 equities recording gains, up from 27 the previous week. Meanwhile, 44 equities posted losses, down from 56, while 72 remained unchanged compared to 64 previously.
The Exchange Traded Products (ETP) segment saw a sharp drop in activity, with 19,814 units worth ₦3.572 million traded in 62 deals, down from 111,693 units valued at ₦6.115 million in 83 deals the previous week.
Bond market activity also declined, with 81,759 units valued at ₦84.283 million exchanged in 27 deals, compared to 144,487 units worth ₦151.615 million in 100 deals the prior week.
However, several sectoral indices closed in positive territory. The Premium Index rose by 0.57%, Pension Index by 0.42%, MERI Growth Index by 2.67%, Consumer Goods by 2.33%, Oil & Gas by 0.20%, Lotus II by 0.16%, Growth Index by 0.26%, Sovereign Bond by 0.39%, and Pension Broad by 0.55%. The ASeM and Commodity indices ended flat.
Meanwhile, trading commenced on Wema Bank Plc’s rights issue of 14.29 billion ordinary shares at 50 kobo each, priced at ₦10.45 per share. The offer, open from Monday, April 14, 2025, is based on two new shares for every three held as of March 5, 2025.
The equities market staged a mild recovery on Thursday, the final trading day of the week, with investors gaining ₦239 billion in market capitalisation, partially offsetting earlier losses.
