KEY POINTS
- NGX weekly turnover reached $127.9 million in the week ended March 7.
- Fidson and NREIT listings gave the market a timely boost.
- Market gainers rose to 44, up from 32 the prior week.
The numbers looked softer on the surface. Underneath, something more encouraging was happening on the Nigerian Exchange last week.
Investors traded 3.695 billion shares worth N177.687 billion, about $127.9 million, across 370,980 deals in the week ended March 7. That was a step down from the 5.494 billion shares valued at N196.709 billion that changed hands in 370,233 deals a week earlier. NGX weekly turnover dipped in volume but the composition of the week told a different story.
NREIT Addition Carried More Weight in Naira Terms
Two new listings did the heavy lifting. Fidson Healthcare Plc added 105,003,725 ordinary shares to the exchange’s daily official list, the result of the pharmaceutical company’s employee share scheme. The addition pushed Fidson’s total issued and fully paid-up capital from about 2.295 billion to a clean 2.4 billion ordinary shares. It was not a traditional fundraise. It was a company handing equity to the people running it, which in its own way signals confidence.
Chapel Hill Denham Management Limited listed 68,158,000 units of its Series 5 Nigeria Real Estate Investment Trust at N103 per unit, part of a broader N400 billion issuance programme. That single move pushed the NREIT’s total outstanding units from roughly 1.588 billion to 1.657 billion, giving both retail and institutional investors another entry point into property markets without tying up capital in physical assets.
Financial services, as usual, dominated the week. The sector accounted for 2.444 billion shares valued at N72.029 billion in 145,628 deals, representing about 66 percent of total equity turnover volume. Oil and gas came second, followed by services. Jaiz Bank, Fortis Global Insurance and Access Holdings together moved 661.242 million shares worth N8.062 billion, accounting for roughly 18 percent of total equity turnover by volume.
Fewer Losers Point to Cautious Recovery
According to Billionaires Africa, the most telling signal of the week had nothing to do with listings. Forty-four equities gained ground, up from 32 the week before. The number of losers fell to 58 from 69. It was not a dramatic swing, but in a market grinding through a rough patch, the direction mattered.
Cowry Asset Management, in a weekend note, said it expected the NGX weekly turnover trend to hold a cautiously optimistic tone, with investors hunting undervalued names and large-cap counters providing index support in the near term.
