Trading activity on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) surged in value on Friday, September 18, as investors exchanged N96.89 billion worth of equities, accounting for nearly 41 percent of the entire market turnover recorded during the week.
Investors traded 525.99 million shares worth N96.89 billion in 44,240 deals on Friday, making the final trading session of the week the largest by transaction value.
For the full week, investors exchanged 3.249 billion shares valued at N237.986 billion in 287,919 deals.
Friday’s N96.89 billion turnover therefore represented approximately 40.7 percent of the entire week’s transaction value, even though the 525.99 million shares exchanged during the session accounted for only about 16.2 percent of weekly trading volume.
The sharp divergence between the session’s share of volume and value indicates that Friday’s transactions were concentrated in significantly higher-value trades compared with the rest of the week.
Friday’s turnover was also more than double the value recorded in any of the preceding four sessions.
On Monday, September 14, investors traded 428.94 million shares worth N20.51 billion, while Tuesday recorded 520.65 million shares valued at N37.14 billion.
Trading value stood at N37.43 billion on Wednesday before increasing to N46.01 billion on Thursday, when investors exchanged 1.111 billion shares.
Despite Thursday recording more than twice Friday’s share volume, its N46.01 billion transaction value was less than half the N96.89 billion recorded on Friday.
The contrast was particularly striking when measured against the average value per share traded.
Based on aggregate turnover, Friday’s transactions averaged approximately N184 per share, compared with about N41 per share on Thursday.
This does not represent an average market price, but it illustrates the substantially higher monetary value attached to the mix of securities traded during Friday’s session.
The surge on the final trading day contributed heavily to the sharp increase in weekly market turnover.
Total transaction value jumped approximately 82.9 percent to N237.986 billion from N130.151 billion in the previous week, even as weekly share volume declined about 10.9 percent from 3.647 billion shares to 3.249 billion shares.
The number of deals also increased to 287,919 from 244,777, representing growth of approximately 17.6 percent.
Financial Services remained the largest contributor to market activity by volume during the week, with 2.581 billion shares worth N97.212 billion exchanged in 138,900 deals.
The sector accounted for 79.43 percent of total share volume but 40.85 percent of transaction value.
Fidelity Bank Plc, Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc and Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc collectively generated 1.229 billion shares worth N15.94 billion, equivalent to 37.83 percent of weekly market volume but only 6.70 percent of transaction value.
The relatively low value contribution of the week’s three most actively traded stocks reinforces the distinction between the concentration of share volume in financial equities and the substantially larger-value transactions that shaped overall turnover.
The increase in trading value accompanied a broader recovery in Nigerian equities, with the NGX All-Share Index advancing 2.78 percent to 249,804.56 points during the week.
Market breadth also improved significantly as 52 equities appreciated, compared with only nine in the previous week, while the number of declining stocks dropped to 32 from 80.
Friday’s N96.89 billion turnover, however, stands out within the weekly data, with a single trading session responsible for more than two-fifths of all capital exchanged on the equities market during the five-day period.
