Nigerian Exchange Surges as Investors Position for Q2 Earnings Season

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) posted weekly gains as investor portfolios swelled by over ₦377 billion in value.

The domestic stock market maintained its upward momentum, recording a 0.83% weekly advance as it extended its winning streak.

Market analysts attributed the positive performance to investor confidence as they enter the third quarter with strategic positioning ahead of expected second-quarter and half-year corporate results.

“Portfolio rebalancing activities and strategic positioning dominated trading sentiment, driven by expectations of strong financial performance from publicly listed firms,” Cowry Asset Limited noted in its market commentary.

Multiple NGX updates indicate that various corporations have commenced closed periods for Q2 disclosures, with forward-looking earnings projections for the latter half of 2025 supporting market confidence.

Cowry Asset Limited observed that these developments, combined with early indicators of enhanced profitability from selected companies, energised investor participation during the week. Friday’s trading session concluded with the NGX All-Share Index reaching 120,989.66 points, marking a 0.83% weekly increase.

Market participants capitalised on perceived undervaluation opportunities in certain listed entities to expand their holdings through rebalancing strategies. Brokerage reports indicated that optimistic sentiment was reinforced by strong market breadth, with numerous stocks achieving new 52-week highs, demonstrating widespread market participation.

Although Notore Chemical Industries Plc was delisted from the Exchange on Friday, the total market capitalisation of listed equities expanded by ₦377.26 billion to ₦76.34 trillion, representing a 0.50% weekly rise. Consequently, the NGX benchmark index’s year-to-date performance now stands at an impressive 17.55%, highlighting a robust first half of 2025 for the equity markets.

Trading volumes displayed notable strength based on market statistics. Participants completed 118,569 transactions during the week, showing a 4.05% increase from the prior week’s activity. Share volumes traded jumped 41.34% to 5.47 billion units, while total value exchanged increased by 6.40% to ₦108.09 billion from the previous week’s ₦101.59 billion.

Market breadth concluded at 2.85x, with 77 stocks posting gains against 27 declining issues. Sectoral index performance leaned predominantly positive. Cowry Asset Limited reported that five of the six monitored indices within its coverage closed higher, indicating broad investor appetite across market segments.

The Industrial Goods Index stood as the sole exception, declining by 2.11% due to continued selling pressure in stocks like Multiverse and Julius Berger. The Insurance and Consumer Goods indices delivered weekly returns of 5.86% and 4.08%, respectively.

Market analysts noted that price gains in NEIMETH, International Breweries, Champion Breweries, Dangote Sugar, Guinea Insurance, Sovereign Insurance, and Prestige Assurance significantly contributed to the upward trend.

The Oil & Gas, Commodity, and Banking indices also registered modest advances of 0.77%, 0.53%, and 0.12%, respectively. Key performers in these sectors included Zenith Bank, Okomu Oil, Japaul Gold, Presco, Wema Bank, Eterna, and Fidelity Bank—all benefiting from investor inflows based on fundamentals and recent earnings indicators.

NEIMETH Pharmaceuticals emerged as the week’s top performer with an exceptional 60.5% weekly return. Ellah Lakes followed with a 31.3% gain, while International Breweries, CWG, and Champion Breweries advanced 26.4%, 25%, and 22%, respectively.

Conversely, Multiverse and ABC Transport led the list of declining stocks, each falling by 9.3%, followed by Oando (7.4%), BUA Foods (6.5%), and DAAR Communications (6.2%). Market sentiment for the upcoming week is expected to blend caution with optimism, according to Cowry Asset Limited.

The investment house indicated that participants will likely monitor macroeconomic indicators—particularly the Q1 2025 economic performance data—alongside numerous Q2 and H1 financial reports from listed companies.

“While market volatility may persist amid this activity surge, the broader perspective remains favourable for fundamentally strong stocks with promising earnings potential.

“As always, we continue to advise discerning investors to maintain a long-term view, prioritizing companies with resilient balance sheets, consistent dividends, and solid growth narratives,” Cowry Asset Limited stated.