It was a busy session on the Nigerian Exchange as the equities market broke its winning streak, closing the holiday-shortened week lower by 30bps to settle at 105,752.61 points. The decline was largely driven by a sharp selloff in Dangote Cement (-10.00%), which weighed heavily on the broader index. BUA Cement also traded lower intraday but ultimately closed flat, despite posting impressive Q1 2025 revenue and profit growth.
Other laggards included Transcorp (-1.94%), Dangote Sugar (-2.03%), Custodian (-4.97%), and AccessCorp (-0.42%). Okomu Oil (-3.76%) traded ex-dividend today for a ₦26.00 payout (reference price: ₦519.20) but managed to rebound and close stronger.
On the flip side, broad-based interest in key counters helped cushion the dip. Gainers included: MTNN (+4.29%), GTCO (+3.11%), ETI (+9.40%), Zenith Bank (+2.20%), WAPCO (+2.27%), Unilever (+8.96%), International Breweries (+10.00%), NASCON (+9.74%), Nigerian Breweries (+2.63%), UACN (+8.58%), and UCAP (+6.74%).
Market turnover was solid at ₦20.2 billion ($12.5 million), with activity dominated by crosses in MTNN and trades in GTCO, Zenith, AccessCorp, and Fidelity. Year-to-date, the ASI is now up +2.78%. We expect a cautiously positive start to the new week, as renewed investor confidence in consumer and industrial goods names continues to build momentum. While some profit-taking may persist, improved earnings sentiment and sustained demand in bellwether stocks could help keep the market on firm footing.