NGX market cap hits N163.06tn as All-Share Index closes at record 251,191.02 points

Nigeria’s equities market closed at a record high on Wednesday, September 23, as buying across sectors pushed the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) to 251,191.02 points, up from 250,614.66 points at the previous close. The 0.23% rise was the index’s highest close since the exchange began tracking the benchmark. Market capitalisation climbed by N374bn to N163.06tn from N162.68tn.

The rally continued from Thursday, September 17, when the ASI stood at 246,315.38 points.

Sector performance

Gains spread across four key sectors. The NGX Banking Index moved to 2,748.63 points from 2,725.39 points. The NGX Insurance Index climbed to 1,093.23 points from 1,081.54 points. The NGX Consumer Goods Index rose to 4,092.56 points. The NGX Oil and Gas Index edged higher to 6,014.43 points. The NGX Industrial Goods Index slipped to 10,463.54 points from 10,479.35 points, weighed down by price declines among some major cement producers.

Banking stocks lead gains

Zenith Bank rose 2.27% to close at N135.00 after more than 32.85 million shares changed hands. Access Holdings added 1.16% to finish at N30.50. First HoldCo gained 1.35% to close at N165.00. Fidelity Bank recorded the highest trading volume in the banking segment, with over 170.71 million shares exchanged.

Eterna posted the biggest single-day advance, rising 10.00% to N38.50 per share. Thomas Wyatt Nigeria followed with a gain of 9.88% to N2.78. Critical Minerals Financing Corporation climbed 9.76% to N2.70. Haldane McCall rose 9.70% to N3.28. Omatek Ventures advanced 9.63% to N1.48. John Holt, Sovereign Trust Insurance, Nigerian Aviation Handling Company and Honeywell Flour Mill also ended in positive territory.

Losers and trading activity

Caverton Offshore Support Group fell the most, dropping 9.09% to N4.00. University Press declined 9.00% to N4.55. Coronation Insurance shed 6.30% to close at N2.23. Veritas Kapital Assurance fell 5.45% to N1.04. United Capital dropped 5.00% to N17.10. C&I Leasing, Africa Prudential and NPF Microfinance Bank also recorded losses.

Investors exchanged 1.59 billion shares across 49,736 deals. The Main Board accounted for the bulk of the volume, with 1.46 billion shares traded across 31,617 deals.

SEC warning on Dangote IPO

Earlier, the Securities and Exchange Commission warned prospective investors about fraudulent schemes targeting the N2.15 trillion Initial Public Offering by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals. The warning came as the public offer opened, attracting significant interest from investors seeking to buy shares in the company. The SEC confirmed that it had approved the public offer but raised concerns about individuals and platforms attempting to take advantage of the strong public interest in the share sale.

For Nigerian businesses, the record close reflects stronger demand for listed equities, especially in banking, insurance, consumer goods and oil and gas. The Industrial Goods weakness and losses in some stocks show the rally is not uniform.