The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) kicked off the year with a strong rally as renewed investor interest lifted equities market capitalisation above the ₦100 trillion mark, signalling robust early-year buying and widespread gains across listed stocks.
Market data showed that total equities capitalisation rose from ₦99.94 trillion on January 2 to ₦101.81 trillion by January 5, representing a ₦1.87 trillion increase within two trading sessions. In dollar terms, market value advanced from $69.61 billion to $71.15 billion, reflecting price appreciation and improving investor confidence.
The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) gained 1.74 per cent in the latest session, pushing month-to-date and year-to-date returns to 2.32 per cent. The rally was driven by strong demand for selected stocks such as Cadbury Nigeria, Fidson Healthcare and Champion Breweries, a trend analysts attribute to the traditional “January Effect.”
Investor sentiment strengthened markedly, with market breadth expanding as 73 stocks closed higher against just eight losers, producing a breadth ratio of 9.13x and underscoring broad participation in the upswing.
Reacting to the milestone, the Group Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Group, Mr Temi Popoola, described the ₦100 trillion crossing as a defining moment for the capital market. He said the achievement reflects renewed investor confidence, growing market depth and resilience, as well as the positive impact of improving macroeconomic conditions and ongoing structural reforms. Popoola also noted that closer collaboration in recent years among regulators, market operators and the Securities and Exchange Commission has enhanced transparency, liquidity and investor protection.
Similarly, the Chief Executive Officer of Nigerian Exchange Limited, Mr Jude Chiemeka, said the rally was supported by improving participation and selective demand across key sectors. He noted that strong activity in banking, industrial and consumer stocks, alongside rising volumes, points to growing investor confidence at the start of the year.
Trading activity presented a mixed picture, as total volume traded surged by 58.13 per cent to 695.64 million shares, while transaction value fell by 25.57 per cent to ₦18.57 billion across 56,606 deals. Year-to-date equities turnover stood at ₦43.52 billion.
Zenith Bank topped the trading chart by value with ₦3.51 billion, followed by WAPCO at ₦2.56 billion and Aradel Holdings at ₦1.57 billion, while Access Holdings and GTCO also featured among the most actively traded stocks.
In other segments of the market, fixed income capitalisation remained unchanged at ₦51.48 trillion, while the exchange-traded funds (ETF) market recorded growth, with capitalisation rising to ₦50.45 billion, pointing to increasing investor interest across asset classes as the year begins.
