Nigeria’s equities market decreased by 1.99 percent in the month of March as Friday March 28 becomes the last trading session of the month ahead of public holidays.

The Federal Government declared Monday, March 31, and Tuesday, April 1, 2025, as public holidays to mark the Eid-el-Fitr celebration.

Read also: Stock market dips further by 0.06%

Meanwhile, the market rose by 0.67 percent as investors booked N438 billion gain in the trading week ended March 28. The week saw three days of positive closes as against two days of negatives.

This year’s positive return increased to +2.67 percent as at Friday March 28.

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“Given the market’s unpredictable movement in recent sessions, we expect investors to shift focus towards defensive stocks, seeking stability amid the volatility,” said analysts at Vetiva Research in their March 27 note.

Ahead of Friday’s trading being the last trading session of the first quarter (Q1), they expected the activities of asset managers to also influence market direction.

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The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation which started the week at 104,962.96 points and N65.819trillion rose to 105,660.64 points and N66.257trillion.

In the review week, oil & gas stocks were mostly on offer while industrial, banking, insurance and consumer goods stocks were on demand at the NGX.

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By Iheanyi Nwachukwu • March 30, 2025

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.

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