KEY POINTS
- Nigerian stock investors gained 5.5 trillion naira last week as the All-Share Index hit a record 225,406.05 points.
- Banking and industrial goods stocks led the rally, with WAPCO up 21.4 percent and FirstHoldCo up 17.2 percent.
- Year-to-date returns reached 41.9 percent as Cordros Capital pointed to Q1 corporate earnings as the next catalyst.
Nigerian stock investors are 5.5 trillion naira richer after a fourth straight week of gains on the Nigerian Exchange. Banking and industrial goods stocks did the heavy lifting, pushing the All-Share Index to a fresh all-time high.
The benchmark index climbed 4 percent week-on-week to 225,406.05 points, up from 217,167.57 points the previous week. Market capitalization surged past 154.334 trillion naira from 139.826 trillion the week before. The new high marks the strongest stretch of buying the bourse has seen this year.
The names doing the lifting
WAPCO led the rally with a 21.4 percent surge. Femi Otedola’s FirstHoldCo followed at 17.2 percent. Tony Elumelu’s UBA tacked on 14.6 percent. Aliko Dangote’s Dangote Cement gained 8.1 percent.
Furthermore, BUA Foods, the food unit anchored by Abdul Samad Rabiu, climbed 7.9 percent. Zenith Bank also rose 7.9 percent, while BUA Cement, another Rabiu-controlled name, added 2.5 percent.
Trading volume rose 2.4 percent week-on-week. Additionally, value traded climbed 3.9 percent. Sector performance was broadly positive, with Industrial Goods up 7.7 percent, Banking up 6.8 percent, Consumer Goods up 5.2 percent, Oil & Gas up 0.9 percent and Insurance up 0.4 percent.
Crucially, the momentum has stretched the broader scoreboard. Specifically, month-to-date returns settled at 16.9 percent, while year-to-date returns climbed to 41.9 percent. Notably, Nigerian stock market participants spent the week digesting the first wave of Q1 2026 earnings reports across the consumer goods, cement and hospitality sectors. The numbers landed well enough to keep the rally going. Investors are clearly rewarding companies that beat expectations.
What analysts are saying about Nigerian stock market
Analysts at Cordros Capital expect Q1 corporate earnings to drive direction in the near term, particularly numbers from telecoms, industrial goods and oil and gas. They also flagged the bourse’s transition to extended trading hours as a key watchpoint.
“We believe market direction in the near term will be driven by Q1 corporate earnings releases, particularly from the telecoms, industrial goods, and oil and gas sectors. In addition, the transition to extended trading hours remains a key watchpoint, with potential to support higher trading volumes and improve overall market liquidity,” Cordros said.
Meanwhile, analysts at InvestData Consulting Limited urged caution. They warned that the market has not yet corrected, and that banking, industrial and consumer goods are nearing a corrective phase.
“Although these indices closed the week offering favourable investment opportunities, investors should be aware that the market hasn’t corrected itself. Sectors such as Banking, Industrial, and Consumer Goods are close to their corrective phase. While the oil and insurance sectors offer a safer investment opportunity,” the firm said.
With the Nigerian Exchange moving to extended trading hours from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., liquidity could deepen further. However, the question facing buyers now is whether the rally has more room to run, or whether the next leg of Q1 earnings will trigger the correction analysts have flagged. The next two weeks of releases should settle the argument.
