Kelechukwu Mgboji 
Investors at the Nigerian stock market started the year on a high note, with equities gaining an impressive ₦1.13 trillion in market capitalisation during the second week of January, 2025.
The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) surged by 1.8 per cent, or 1,864.73 basis points, closing at 105,451.06 on Friday, January 10, up from 103,586.33 at the week’s start.
This bullish performance pushed market capitalisation to N64.30 trillion from N63.17 trillion, fueled by positive sentiment and bargain-hunting in key stocks such as MTN Nigeria (+21.0%), Transcorp (+18.3%), and Transcorp Hotels (+9.8%).
Investors responded positively to signals of a potential tariff hike in the telecommunications sector, while other sectors also recorded significant gains.
Year-to-date returns for the market now stand at +2.5 per cent, reflecting renewed confidence in domestic equities.
Trading activity surged, with weekly trading volume jumping by 80.8 per cent to 4.698 billion shares, while trading value climbed 22.4 per cent to N85.043 billion across 72,562 deals.
The financial services sector dominated trading, contributing 73.86 per cebt of total equity turnover volume and 47.97 per cent of total value, with 3.47 billion shares worth N40.791 billion exchanged in 34,364 deals.
The services and ICT industries followed, recording turnovers of 407.03 million shares and 237.68 million shares, respectively.
Top equities by volume – Wema Bank, FBN Holdings, and Universal Insurance – accounted for 1.679 billion shares worth N20.838 billion, representing 35.74 per cent of total equity volume and 24.50 per cent of total value.
However, sectoral indices showed mixed performance. Gains were recorded across most indices, except for declines in NGX Insurance (-6.91%), NGX Consumer Goods (-0.34%), and NGX Industrial Goods (-0.26%).
Analysts at Cordros Capital remain optimistic, forecasting sustained momentum in the weeks ahead, driven by pre-earnings positioning, sector-specific developments, and potential policy announcements.
“The strong start to the year underscores investor confidence in Nigeria’s equities market, as macroeconomic and sectoral fundamentals continue to attract strategic inflows,” Cordros Capital noted in a Friday research report.
