*As index closes 2.27% higher, market cap adds N3.34trn this week
By Bamidele Famoofo
Selective buying is likely to persist in strong sectors in the equities market next week as investors are expected to focus on banking, industrial goods, and consumer stocks, while oil & gas and commodity counters may remain weak.
According to stock market experts, overall sentiment is expected to be constructive, but volatility may increase as the market consolidates recent gains and
reacts to macroeconomic developments
“Looking Ahead, the Nigerian equities market is expected to remain broadly positive in the near term, though gains may slow as investors take profits after the recent rally,” stock market analysts at Cowry Asset noted in a report.
Meanwhile, .the Nigerian equities market ended the week on a strong bullish note, as sustained gains in key counters drove overall market performance in the week ended May 14, 2026.
The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) advanced by 2.27 percent week-on-week to close at 250,330.92 points, while market capitalisation rose to ₦160.44 trillion, reflecting an increase of approximately ₦3.34 trillion. Consequently, year-to-date returns strengthened to 60.87 percent, underscoring continued positive investor
sentiment.
Market breadth also improved, closing positive at 2.24x with 65 gainers against 29 losers, indicating selective but firm buying interest across the bourse.
Trading activity remained strong, despite a 14.18 percent decline in the number of deals. However, traded volume and value increased by 13.47 percent and
15.93 percent week-on-week, respectively. Overall, investors exchanged 7.53 billion shares worth ₦359.93 billion across 398,655 deals, reflecting robust participation.
Sectoral performance was largely positive, led by gains in the Industrial Goods, Banking, Insurance, and Consumer Goods indices, which rose by 4.66 percent,
2.82 percent, 2.74 percent, and 1.65 percent respectively. In contrast, the Oil & Gas and Commodity indices declined by 1.19 percent and 0.80 percent.
On the gainers’ chart, BERGER led with a 41.8 percent increase, followed by UPDCREIT (+37.0%), ABBEYBDS (+34.5%), SCOA (+32.7%), and DAARCOMM (+29.7%), driven by strong buying interest. On the losers’ side, PRESCO (-11.9%), NCR (-10.0%), CUSTODIAN (-9.5%), ELLAHLAKES (-9.5%), and STANBIC (-7.9%) recorded declines, largely due to profit-taking and sustained selling pressure.
