The Easter week on the Nigerian equities market told a story of restraint, not excitement, as investors stayed cautious.
The Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index gained 785.83 points and closed at 201,698.89, rising 0.39%.
Market Edges Higher Despite Cautious Easter Trading
Consequently, market capitalisation climbed to ₦129.8 trillion.
Traders engaged less actively because only four sessions occurred during the week.
As a result, trading volume slowed to 2.8 billion shares in 215,287 deals, worth ₦113.5 billion.
Volatile Trading Drives Mixed Performance
The week started weakly when the index fell 428.6 points on Monday.
However, it held above 200,000 and closed at 200,484.4.
Next, momentum strengthened on Tuesday as the index surged by 803.3 points.
Then, Wednesday added further gains with a small rise.
Finally, Thursday ended with a slight drop of 4.7 points, settling at 201,698.89.
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Notably, large-cap stocks drove the gains, especially MTN Nigeria and GTCO.
Their strong performance supported the market’s upward movement.
Meanwhile, the Premium Index rose 1.59% because MTN Nigeria posted strong gains.
In addition, the Banking Index climbed 0.71% as GTCO and FCMB Group advanced.
Heavyweights Sustain Gains While Sectors Diverge
Similarly, the NGX 30 Index increased by 0.54%, while the Main Board Index fell by 0.29%.
Overall, sector performance showed mixed results.
Moreover, the Oil and Gas Index edged higher, as Eterna and Japaul Gold recorded gains.
In contrast, other sectors struggled.
The Insurance Index dropped 4.25% as sellers dominated the sector.
Likewise, Consumer Goods declined by 1.74%, and Industrial Goods slipped by 0.24%.
Among the top gainers, Multiverse Mining surged 20.66% to ₦20.15.
Similarly, UPDC REIT gained 15.49% to ₦8.20, while International Energy Insurance rose 12.54%.
In addition, Unilever Nigeria advanced 10.00% to ₦103.40.
Cadbury Nigeria climbed 9.05% to ₦68.70, and NAHCO increased 8.85% to ₦189.95.
On the other hand, Secure Electronic Technology fell sharply by 21.54% to ₦1.02.
Likewise, John Holt dropped 18.47% to ₦15.45, while May & Baker declined 16.57%.
Furthermore, Africa Prudential and Guinea Insurance recorded notable losses as selling pressure spread.
Consequently, weakness affected several sectors.
At the same time, companies released several audited financial results for 2025.
For example, BUA Foods, GTCO, and Wema Bank published their reports.
Additionally, VFD Group, Berger Paints, and Etranzact released their audited results.
Likewise, NEM Insurance and Coronation Insurance also reported earnings.
However, FTN Cocoa and Ellah Lakes reported losses in their results.
Meanwhile, Fidson Healthcare also released its 2025 financial statements.
Currently, MTN Nigeria holds a ₦15.9 trillion market cap and represents 12.3% of the Exchange.
In addition, GTCO, valued at ₦4.4 trillion, accounts for 3.4%.
Finally, the index sits above 201,000 points, which signals an overbought market.
Therefore, a pullback in key stocks could trigger a short-term decline.
