Trading activities on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the week on a note of cautious optimism as new listings from Fidson Healthcare Plc and Chapel Hill Denham’s NREIT underpinned a total turnover of N177.7 billion, signaling a subtle shift in investor sentiment.
While total turnover value saw a slight dip compared with the previous week, market watchers highlighted the notable reduction in losing stocks as a sign that the market may be stabilizing heading into mid-March.
Investors exchanged 3.695 billion shares valued at N177.687 billion across 370,980 deals during the week, compared with 5.494 billion shares worth N196.709 billion in 370,233 deals recorded the prior week.
New Listings Provide Market Boost
The week’s trading was buoyed by two major additions to the NGX daily official list. Fidson Healthcare listed 105,003,725 ordinary shares from its employee share scheme, raising its total issued and fully paid-up capital from 2.295 billion to 2.4 billion shares.
Meanwhile, Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited added 68.158 million units of its Series 5 Nigeria Real Estate Investment Trust (NREIT) at N103 per unit. This issuance is part of a larger N400 billion program and increased the NREIT’s outstanding units from 1.588 billion to 1.656 billion.
Financial Services Lead Market Activity
Sectoral analysis showed that the Financial Services Industry remained the dominant driver, accounting for 2.444 billion shares worth N72.029 billion traded in 145,628 deals—representing 66.14% of total volume and 40.54% of turnover value.
The Oil and Gas Industry followed with 326.073 million shares valued at N39.510 billion in 36,458 deals, while the Services Industry recorded 218.374 million shares worth N2.012 billion in 18,575 deals.
Individually, Jaiz Bank Plc, Fortis Global Insurance Plc, and Access Holdings Plc emerged as the most actively traded equities, collectively representing 661.242 million shares worth N8.062 billion in 38,534 deals—about 17.9% of total market volume.
The Exchange-Traded Products (ETP) segment also saw modest growth, with 3.8 million units valued at N548.24 million traded in 4,487 deals, up from 3.603 million units worth N409.6 million the previous week.
Market Breadth Suggests Gradual Recovery
Price movement data suggested a gradual easing of bearish pressures. Forty-four equities appreciated during the week, up from thirty-two gainers previously, while the number of declining stocks dropped to fifty-eight from sixty-nine. Forty-six equities remained unchanged.
Analysts noted that the combination of new listings and reduced sell-offs helped provide a stable floor for the market as it moved into the second week of March.
Cowry Asset Management Limited cautioned, however, that “temporary profit-taking and relatively subdued trading activity may limit the pace of gains. Consequently, market performance in the coming week is expected to be driven largely by stock-specific developments and investor sentiment across key sectors.”
The firm added that in the near term, “the domestic equities market is expected to maintain a cautiously positive tone, with bargain hunting and selective accumulation in large-cap and fundamentally strong stocks supporting the NGX All-Share Index.”