Nigeria’s stock market gains N328bn in bullish trading week

Investors in Nigeria’s equities market gained about N328 billion in the trading week ended Friday, October 15 as the market maintain bullish momentum across the five trading days.

The review week’s activity was enhanced by demand for stocks in banking stocks, particularly that of FBN Holdings. Also, in the broader market, investors bought fundamentally sound names which helped push the index up by 1.39percent in one week.

The record gains in the review trading week drove the market’s positive return year-to-date (YtD) to 2.90percent.

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation appreciated from week-open highs of 40,868.36 points and N21.296trillion respectively to 41,438.15 points and N21.624trillion.

Market watchers expect this trend to persist into a new week amid positive market sentiment.

In related market development, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc (NGX Group) on Friday successfully listed its shares on the Main Board of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

A total of 1,964,115,918 shares were admitted to trading, representing the issued share capital of the Group. In 31 deals, investors on Friday exchanged 3,562,076 units of the newly listed stock. The NGX Group share price closed higher at N17.75kobo per share from N16.15 it listed. Its capitalisation increased to N34.86billion.

Read also: Oscar Onyema resigns as non-executive director of NGX

Having satisfied the Listing Requirements of The Exchange and obtained relevant regulatory approvals, NGX Group is now listed in the Financial Services and Capital Market Infrastructure sector of the Exchange, with the ticker “NGXGROUP”.

Abimbola Ogunbanjo, the Group Chairman, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc said, “Today’s Listing of NGX Group on NGX is another milestone attained pursuant to the Group’s 2018 – 2021 corporate strategy. Our shareholder base has more than doubled since our demutualisation in March 2021 and our valued shareholders will benefit from the enhanced liquidity that listing on The Exchange will facilitate. This listing will also enable a much wider universe of potential investors and market participants to share in our growth journey. As a Board, we embrace the letter and spirit of the listing requirements and we are committed to transparent disclosure, proactive stakeholder engagement, and exemplary corporate governance.”

Oscar N. Onyema, Group Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, NGX Group stated, “Today’s listing of NGX Group on the nation’s premier Exchange, NGX, will enable institutional investors globally as well as the Nigerian public to invest in Nigerian Exchange Group Plc. With strengthening market dynamics, serving the largest economy in Africa, NGX Group’s listing allows us to expand in key capital market infrastructure verticals and look beyond Nigeria’s borders, as we deliver on our growth plans to become Africa’s leading capital market infrastructure group.”

Temi Popoola, Chief Executive Officer, NGX, commented on the milestone listing stating, “We are excited to welcome NGX Group to the main board of The Exchange and we congratulate the Board and Management first on a successful demutualisation and on its subsequent listing. This move is particularly exciting, as it will position NGX Group to provide liquidity to members while stimulating the capital market ecosystem to grow at the same pace as the economy. Today, we reiterate our commitment to being a trusted partner to NGX Group and other listed companies as we continue to build a platform that allows our listed companies, investors, and other stakeholders to maximise value in our market.”