The Nigerian Exchange turned bullish in the past week for investors who gained about N295bn at the close of trading on the back of positive sentiments even as trading activities weakened.

This gain comes after two consecutive weeks of losses, bringing the year-to-date performance of the All-Share Index to +30.69 per cent. This performance was primarily driven by buying interest in Flourmill (+10.00 per cent week-on-week), Oando (+4.42 per cent WoW), and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (+2.75 per cent WoW).

Market watchers said the positive performance was driven by sector rotation and portfolio rebalancing activities, which reflected optimism from Q3 earnings releases and the undervalued nature of many stocks with strong upside potential.

The All-Share Index rebounded from the loss of the previous week to rise by 0.50 per cent to close at 97,722.28 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation increased by 0.50 per cent to settle at N59.22tn.

Although year-to-date, the ASI still delivered a 30.69 per cent return, the broader market saw more decliners than gainers, with 45 stocks losing value compared to 39 gainers. This reflects the wider sentiment of caution among investors in light of economic uncertainties.

A total turnover of 1.482 billion units of shares worth N38.88bn were exchanged in 44,795 deals this past week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, lower than 6.468 billion shares valued at N75.75bn that exchanged hands last week in 48,804 deals.

When measured by volume, the Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 1.068 billion shares valued at N19.82bn traded 21,001 deals; thus contributing 72.04 per cent and 50.98 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Oil and Gas Industry followed with 103.143 million shares worth N11.35bn in 8,200 deals and third place was the Consumer Goods Industry, with a turnover of 77.198 million shares worth N2.845bn in 4,266 deals.

The top three equities that saw plenty of action at the end of the week were Access Holdings Plc, United Capital Plc, and United Bank for Africa Plc.

They accounted for 433.794 million shares worth N10.27bn in 8,790 deals, contributing 29.27 per cent and 26.43 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.

Across the sectoral front, performance was largely positive as three out of the five sectors moved upward reflecting strong investor sentiment across the sectors.

Consequently, the NGX-Insurance, NGX-Banking and NGX-Consumer Goods indices were the toast of investors this week with gains of 2.84 per cent, 2.32 per cent and 0.60 per cent due to buying interest in stocks such as Flour Mills, United Bank for Africa, Mansard, GTCO, Cornerstone Insurance, and Champion respectively.

On the contrary, the NGX-Oil & Gas and NGX-Industrial recorded marginal losses of 0.29 per cent and 0.20 per cent on the back of adverse price movements seen in tickers like Oando, BUA Cement and Berger.

At the close of the week, stocks such as John Holt (61 per cent), Eunisell (46 per cent), Tantalizer (34 per cent), SUNU Assurance (32 per cent) and Flourmill (23 per cent) were the best-performing securities in the week.

However, Daar Communication (12 per cent), Oando (10 per cent), VFD Group (10 per cent), AbbeyBDS (10 per cent) and Ellah Lakes (7 per cent) emerged as the worst-performing stocks this week due to adverse price movement.

On the outlook, analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited expected to see a tug-of-war between bulls and bears, “with the bulls likely gaining an edge.

“Opportunities persist for savvy investors in undervalued stocks amid ongoing market volatility. The release of October’s Consumer Price Index data by the National Bureau of Statistics may also influence sentiment, as inflationary pressures and naira volatility keep market players cautious.”

Meanwhile, Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund has listed an additional 218,084 units of NIDF on the Daily Official List of NGX during the past week.

A notice to trading licence holders indicated that the additional units arose from the NIDF’s 2024 Q3 Scrip Dividend. With the listing of the additional 218,084 units, the total units of the Fund have now increased from 961,123,921 to 961,342,005 units.