Banking, Insurance Stocks Lift NGX to ₦3.46 Trillion Weekly Gain, Highest in 2025 So Far
Nigeria’s stock market gained ₦3.46 trillion last week, posting its best performance of 2025.
Investor confidence surged, especially in banking and insurance stocks, amid dividend expectations and policy optimism.
Nigeria’s equities market soared to its highest weekly gain so far in 2025, driven by strong investor demand for banking and insurance stocks. The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the week ended Friday, July 11, with a market value increase of ₦3.464 trillion, equivalent to a 4.26 per cent rise in the All-Share Index (ASI).
This bullish performance pushed the year-to-date (YTD) return to an impressive +22.56 per cent, as more investors turned their attention to financial stocks amid expectations of interim dividends and improved sectoral earnings.
By the end of the trading week, the NGX ASI climbed from 120,989.66 to 126,149.59 points, while market capitalization grew from ₦76.339 trillion to ₦79.803 trillion. This marked the most substantial weekly market expansion so far this year.
Investor sentiment improved as 90 equities recorded gains, compared to 78 in the previous week. Only 16 stocks declined, fewer than the 20 losers in the prior week, while 41 stocks closed flat, a slight drop from 49 previously.
All sectoral indices finished the week on a positive note, except the NGX Oil and Gas Index, which slipped by 0.72 per cent, reflecting weak investor appetite in that segment.
The banking and insurance sectors primarily led the surge. The Financial Services Industry dominated activity, accounting for 3.019 billion shares valued at ₦56.244 billion traded in 55,574 deals. This represented 56 per cent of the total trading volume and 52.17 per cent of the total value.
In comparison, the Oil and Gas sector recorded 565.645 million shares worth ₦8.111 billion across 9,914 deals, while the Services Industry followed with 466.153 million shares valued at ₦2.595 billion in 10,832 transactions.
Among the most actively traded stocks were Access Holdings Plc, Japaul Gold & Ventures Plc, and AIICO Insurance Plc. These three alone contributed 1.396 billion shares worth ₦15.835 billion across 12,828 deals, accounting for 25.90 per cent of the total volume and 14.69 per cent of the total value for the week.
Despite a slight dip in overall weekly turnover, 5.390 billion shares worth ₦107.811 billion traded in 134,390 deals, compared to the prior week’s 5.466 billion shares valued at ₦108.099 billion, the market outlook remained strong. Analysts attributed the marginal drop to profit-taking in select stocks and sector rotation among investors.
