Banking, oil & gas stocks push market higher by N1.16trn in September

Nigeria’s equities market rose by 2.05 percent or N1.158trillion in the month of September, pushing the market’s return this year higher to +31.81 percent.

The market’s gain in the review month was caused by investors who bought banking, oil & gas, and insurance stocks despite profit taking seen in consumer and industrial stocks.

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation opened the review month at 96,579.54 points and N55.477 trillion but closed at 98,558.79 points and N56.635 trillion.

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Ahead of Tuesday’s public holiday to market Nigeria’s Independence Day celebration, the nation’s stock market rose by 0.10 percent on Monday while stock investors gained about N58billion at the close of trading.

Stocks like Guinness, Japaul Gold, UBA, Access Holdings and Veritas Kapital were actively traded as investors in 10,583 deals exchanged 1,857,102,582 shares worth N111.579billion.

Ahead of Monday’s trading, analysts at Lagos-based Vetiva Research said they expect to see investors adopt a wait-and-see approach to the market in the coming weeks, “as they anticipate the release of third-quarter (Q3) 2024 earnings results”.

Also in their view, Meristem analysts expect the equities market to close down this week, “as we anticipate profit-taking activities as investors rebalance their portfolios to lock in gains ahead of the new quarter.”

“We anticipate a shift in investor sentiment towards the fixed income market, driven by high yields, as the

Monetary Policy Committee’s hawkish stance tightens system liquidity and slows equities market activities. While we anticipate continued positive volatility on

tickers like Julius Berger, United Capital and NAHCO this week, we don’t expect it to significantly affect the overall market. Barring any major corporate action this week that might drive the market towards the positive, we expect the local bourse to close in the negative territory,” Meristem analysts said.

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Abbey Mortgage Bank rose most, from N2.50 to N2.75, adding 25kobo or 10 percent. Africa Prudential also moved from N9 to N9.90, adding 90kobo or 10percent, while Tripple Gee rose from N4.13 to N4.54, adding 41kobo or 9.93percent. The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation increased from preceding trading day’s lows of 98,458.68 points and N56.577 trillion respectively to 98,558.79 points and N56.635 trillion.