Dangote cement, Aradel rally adds ₦1.4tn to NGX value
Story by Martha Gwary
Buying interest in heavyweight stocks, led by Dangote Cement and Aradel, lifted the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) by about ₦1.4tn on Monday as equities extended their bullish run.
Dangote Cement rose by 8.81 per cent, while Aradel gained 2.78 per cent. Other stocks that supported the market’s advance included Nigerian Breweries (+2.66 per cent), International Breweries (+2.00 per cent) and Lafarge Africa (+1.74 per cent).
As a result, the NGX All-Share Index climbed by 1.29 per cent to 173,946.22 points, while market capitalisation increased by the same margin to ₦111.66tn at the close of trading.
Market breadth remained positive, with 59 stocks recording gains against 26 decliners. CAP, May & Baker and DAAR Communications topped the gainers’ chart, each appreciating by 10.00 per cent. On the losers’ table, Eunisell fell by 9.98 per cent, followed by Tripple Gee (-8.90 per cent) and Abbey Mortgage Bank (-8.03 per cent).
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Despite the strong price action, trading activity eased. Total volume traded declined by 18.72 per cent to 775.2 million shares, while turnover fell by 35.21 per cent to ₦27.9bn compared with the previous session. However, the number of deals rose by 29.32 per cent to 65,960 transactions.
Banking stocks dominated activity, with Access Corporation leading the volume chart after trading 67.1 million shares, representing 8.66 per cent of total volume. Zenith Bank emerged as the most traded by value, accounting for ₦3.4bn, or 12.29 per cent of total turnover.
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Sectoral performance was largely positive. The Industrial Goods index advanced by 4.76 per cent, driven mainly by the rally in Dangote Cement. The Consumer Goods index rose by 0.74 per cent on the back of gains in Nigerian Breweries, while Aradel’s appreciation helped push the Oil and Gas index up by 1.29 per cent and the Commodity index by 0.65 per cent.
Conversely, the Banking index dipped by 0.04 per cent and the Insurance index by 0.03 per cent, weighed down by losses in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (-5.01 per cent) and AIICO Insurance (-4.44 per cent).
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Over the past week, the Oil and Gas index has been a major driver of market strength, helping the All-Share Index reach a historic high of 171,727.49 points and boosting market capitalisation to ₦110.23tn.
Analysts have attributed the sustained rally to what they describe as a “fragile but positive” stabilisation of macroeconomic indicators and a gradual shift towards productivity-led growth. They expect the positive momentum to continue in the near term, supported by improving investor sentiment and the ongoing release of corporate earnings, although intermittent profit-taking may occur after the recent surge.
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Afrinvest analysts said they anticipate the bullish trend to persist this week, underpinned by stronger sentiment and earnings releases. Similarly, AIICO Capital noted that positive sentiment is likely to be sustained, particularly in mid- and high-cap stocks, as investors position for the dividend season, while cautioning that some profit-taking remains likely.
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