Investors in Nigerian equities gained about N5.37 trillion in September as the Nigerian Exchange extended its upward trajectory despite bouts of profit-taking and sharp swings in trading activity during the month.
The NGX All-Share Index closed September at 251,211.67 points, up from 244,199.39 points at the end of August, representing an increase of 7,012.28 points or 2.87 percent.
Similarly, equity market capitalisation expanded from approximately N157.74 trillion at the end of August to N163.10 trillion on September 30, translating to an increase of about N5.37 trillion in investors’ wealth during the month.
The positive monthly performance, however, masked significant volatility as investors rotated positions across banking, insurance, consumer goods and other actively traded equities.
Trading activity was particularly strong at different points during September. On September 4, investors exchanged 2.24 billion shares valued at N73.38 billion in 42,638 transactions, making it one of the month’s notable liquidity sessions.
Market momentum strengthened considerably toward the latter part of September.
The All-Share Index stood at 250,156.80 points on September 21 before advancing to 250,614.66 on September 22 and 251,191.02 on September 23.
It climbed further to 252,150.01 points on September 24 before easing marginally to 252,113.41 on September 25.
The bullish momentum resumed on September 28, pushing the benchmark index to 252,566.84 points, one of the highest levels recorded during the period covered by Investors King‘s September trading data.
However, investors took profits during the final two sessions of the month.
The index declined to 251,913.20 points on September 29 before shedding another 0.28 percent on September 30 to settle at 251,211.67 points.
The two-session pullback erased part of the gains accumulated during the preceding rally but was insufficient to overturn September’s overall positive performance.
Trading activity also remained substantial during the closing stretch. Investors exchanged 1.01 billion shares worth N39.02 billion on September 28, followed by 548.67 million shares valued at N34.30 billion on September 29.
On the final trading day of September, approximately 1.04 billion shares worth N53.64 billion changed hands across 44,469 transactions.
VFD Group dominated trading volume on September 30 with 367.32 million shares, while UAC of Nigeria recorded N21.51 billion in transaction value from 158.18 million shares.
Several individual equities also recorded strong price movements during the month.
Consolidated Hallmark Holdings’ CMFC emerged repeatedly among the market’s leading gainers during the latter part of September. The stock rose from N2.04 on September 21 to N3.26 by September 25, before advancing to N3.58 on September 28 and eventually closing September at N4.32.
The movement represents an increase of approximately 111.8 percent from N2.04 on September 21 to N4.32 at month-end, highlighting the strength of speculative and investor demand for selected insurance-related equities.
ABC Transport also recorded a sustained rally toward the end of the month. The stock advanced from N4.65 before its September 25 session to N5.10, subsequently climbing to N5.60 on September 28, N6.15 on September 29 and N6.75 by September 30.
LivingTrust Mortgage Bank was another late-month outperformer, rising from N2.60 to N2.86 on September 29 before adding another 9.79 percent to close September at N3.14.
The month was not uniformly positive across individual equities with periods of broad profit-taking and reversals occurring alongside the benchmark index’s advance.
Sovereign Trust Insurance illustrated the volatility. After climbing 9.17 percent from N2.40 to N2.62 on September 28, the stock reversed 9.92 percent to N2.36 the following session before declining another 6.78 percent to N2.20 on September 30.
September’s performance nevertheless left the broader Nigerian equities market considerably higher than where it started.
With the All-Share Index gaining 2.87 percent and approximately N5.37 trillion added to equity market capitalisation, the market entered October above the 251,000-point level despite the profit-taking that characterised the final two trading sessions.
