Stock market closes July with record 16.57% gain

The Nigerian equities market ended July on a historic high, recording its strongest monthly performance so far in 2025 with a 16.57% gain, as investor sentiment surged across key sectors.

The NGX All-Share Index, which tracks overall market performance, opened the month at 119,980.4 points and closed at 139,863.5 points, marking consistent weekly gains and pushing the year-to-date (YTD) performance to 35.9%.

Market capitalization mirrored this bullish momentum, rising from N75.80 trillion to N88.4 trillion by the end of July.

According to data from the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX), trading activity soared with 22 billion shares exchanged during the month, significantly up from 13.8 billion shares traded in June—highlighting renewed investor confidence and market participation.

The Industrial Goods sector emerged as July’s top-performing sector, with the NGX Industrial Goods Index climbing 34.28% from 3,638.2 to 4,885.2 points.

The rally was powered by a trading volume of 534.2 million shares, led by heavyweight cement stocks and chemical producers.

Top gainers in the sector included: Tripple Gee – 88.44%; Lafarge Africa (WAPCO) – 70.87%; Meyer Plc – 64.18% and BUA Cement – 41.51%

Other notable performers were Chemical & Allied Products (31.50%), Cutix (18.90%), Berger Paints (14.50%), and Austin Laz (13.59%). The performance of Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, and Lafarge significantly influenced the index’s trajectory.

The Banking sector also delivered impressive results, with the NGX Banking Index gaining 25.78% to close at 1,610.5 points from 1,280.4. The sector recorded the highest trading volume across all sectors with 6.48 billion shares exchanged.

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Leading banking stocks in July included: Wema Bank – 47.16%; UBA – 40.21%; Zenith Bank – 34.33%; Access Holdings – 26.24%; GTCO – 23.69%; FirstHoldco – 24.04%; Ecobank – 21.20% and Stanbic IBTC – 18.82%

Modest advances were seen in FCMB (8.11%) and Fidelity Bank (5.25%).

The Insurance sector posted a 17.74% gain, with the NGX Insurance Index rising from 755.5 to 889.5 points. Investor activity remained strong with 3.27 billion shares traded.

Other advancing stocks were Universal Insurance (25.81%), Veritas Kapital (25.74%), Regency Alliance (25.00%), and Linkage Assurance (12.99%).

The Consumer Goods sector closed the month with an 11.14% increase, as the NGX Consumer Goods Index rose from 2,635.9 to 2,929.4 points, driven by a trading volume of 1.1 billion shares.

Additional gainers were Champion Breweries (39.00%), Guinness Nigeria (33.01%), Nigerian Breweries (30.59%), and Nestlé Nigeria (30.34%).

In contrast to the robust performances across other sectors, the Oil and Gas sector recorded the weakest growth, with only a 1.72% gain for July.

With five of the first seven months of 2025 closing in positive territory, market analysts are optimistic about sustained momentum into the third quarter.

Analysts attribute the bullish trend to stronger macroeconomic indicators, improving investor sentiment, and sector-specific growth.

While market watchers caution that profit-taking and external headwinds may pose short-term risks, the consensus remains that the Nigerian equities market is on a firm path to recovery and value creation.