By Muhammad Mamman
The Nigerian stock market closed last week on a positive note after the Central Bank of Nigeria’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) cut the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by 50 basis points — its first rate reduction in five years.
The late-session rally on the final two trading days offset earlier losses, with investor sentiment buoyed by the more accommodative policy stance. The MPR was reduced from 27.5% to 27.0%, a move driven by continued disinflation, naira stability and strong external reserves.
On the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), notable gainers included Stanbic IBTC (+9.3%), Zenith Bank (+9.1%), International Breweries (+10.1%), Dangote Cement (+1.7%) and WAPCO (+4.0%). These pushed the All-Share Index up 0.2% week-on-week to 142,132.02 points, while market capitalisation rose by over ₦216 billion to ₦89.96 trillion.
Trading activity surged, with volume up 73.8% and value advancing 257.7% week-on-week. Sectoral performance was mixed: industrial goods (+1.3%), consumer goods (+1.2%) and banking (+1.2%) gained, while insurance (-0.9%) and oil & gas (-1.6%) slipped.
Analysts expect sentiment to strengthen further this week, supported by the easing policy stance and prospects of increased liquidity in equities.
