Equities market ends mixed week as market cap sheds N244bn on Notore delisting

The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a mixed note, with the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) eking out a marginal gain of 0.01per cent to settle at 120,989.66 basis points, even as the overall market capitalization contracted by N244 billion to N76.34 trillion.

The contraction was primarily triggered by the delisting of Notore Chemical Industries Plc from the Nigerian Exchange Group, tempering the year-to-date return to 17.55per cent.

Despite the subdued index movement, market breadth remained broadly positive as 40 stocks posted gains against 27 decliners, suggesting underlying investor optimism. Nonetheless, overall investor participation was tepid, as volume and value of trades dipped by 1.02per cent and 62.46per cent, respectively.

A total of 923.87 million shares valued at N11 billion were exchanged in 25,680 transactions, with the number of deals ticking up by 6.09per cent.

The day’s trading was led by John Holt Plc and Champion Breweries Plc, both surging by the daily maximum of 10.00per cent. John Holt advanced from N7.00 to N7.70, while Champion rose from N12.00 to N13.20, buoyed by renewed investor confidence and speculative positioning. Other prominent gainers included Academy Press and UPDC (up 9.98per cent apiece), Red Star Express (+8.99per cent), and RT Briscoe (+9.94per cent).

Bullish sentiment extended to DAAR Communications and Union Dicon Salt, which both rose by 9.84per cent, closing at N0.67 and N2.12 respectively. Thomas Wyatt and Tripple Gee rounded off the top ten gainers with 9.76per cent increases each.

On the losing end, Ellah Lakes Plc and PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc both posted steep 10per cent declines, driven by profit-taking activity. Japaul Gold shed 9.70per cent to close at N2.70, despite dominating the volume chart. Other laggards included Royal Exchange (-9.49per cent), McNichols (-8.85per cent), and May & Baker (-8.65per cent).

Japaul Gold led the volume chart with a massive 147.08 million shares traded, reflecting heightened speculative interest. It was followed by WAPIC (44.53 million shares) and AccessCorp (43.62 million shares). Additional volume drivers included Chams, FTN Cocoa, and Veritas Kapital.

In value terms, GTCO Plc emerged as the session’s leader with N1.54 billion worth of shares exchanged. Zenith Bank and AccessCorp followed with N1.00 billion and N984.30 million respectively. PZ Cussons, despite its loss, recorded N574.20 million in traded value, alongside MTNN, Fidelity Bank, and UBA.

Although the market witnessed a dip in capitalization, the selective uptrend in equities and sectoral resilience—particularly in Insurance (+1.33per cent), Oil & Gas (+0.80per cent), Consumer Goods (+0.24per cent), and Commodities (+0.51per cent)—signals pockets of investor confidence amid a cautiously optimistic outlook. However, weakness in the Banking (-0.13per cent) and Industrial Goods (-0.93per cent) sectors underscores the persistent drag from macroeconomic headwinds and portfolio rebalancing.