Tuesday's close: the All-Share Index rose 1.07% (+2,699.52 pts) to 253,990.06, a new all-time high and its third straight gain. Market value grew about ₦1.75trn to a record ₦164.91trn, and the index is now up 63.22% this year. This morning we asked two questions. Here are the answers. Did Dangote Cement keep running? Yes. $DANGCEM rose another 9.80% to ₦1,341.90, a new 52-week high. That's three sessions in a row, from ₦1,010 last Thursday to ₦1,341.90 now, about 33% in three days. It pushed the Industrial Index up 5.50%. Did the rally broaden? No, it got narrower. Only 20 stocks rose while 36 fell, weaker than Monday's 24 up and 30 down. The Banking Index barely moved (+0.01%): Wema Bank (+4.01%) and Access Holdings (+3.26%) rose, but Fidelity (-4.35%), GTCO (-1.52%) and UBA (-1.35%) slipped. Insurance stocks fell 2.44%. The odd number of the day: volume jumped to 5.23bn shares worth ₦441.44bn. Almost all of it was one stock. First HoldCo alone traded 4.88bn shares worth ₦416.29bn, about 94% of the day's value. Take it out and the rest of the market traded about ₦25.15bn, roughly the same as Monday. So this was one huge deal, not a sudden wave of new buyers. Top gainers: UPDC REIT (+10.00% to ₦19.25), Dangote Cement (+9.80%), Honeywell Flour (+9.67% to ₦21.55). Top losers: $PRESCO (-10.00% to ₦1,840.80), Tripple Gee (-9.93% to ₦2.54), Thomas Wyatt (-9.85% to ₦2.47). Transcorp also fell 9.70% to ₦32.60. Why it matters: a record index and a falling majority can happen on the same day. The headline tells you about the biggest companies. Your own portfolio might tell a different story. Want to see how today really hit your holdings? Add your portfolio on Gopexly and check it in your own numbers. Not financial advice, just the close.
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International Breweries' nine-month results look like a contradiction. Pre-tax profit rose 21.86% to ₦90.44bn. After-tax profit fell 5.74% to ₦54.51bn. Both are true, and the gap has a name: the effective tax rate. How it works: 1. Effective tax rate = tax expense ÷ profit before tax. It tells you what share of pre-tax profit went to tax. 2. For $INTBREW this year: ₦35.93bn ÷ ₦90.44bn ≈ 39.7%. 3. A year ago: ₦16.39bn ÷ ₦74.22bn ≈ 22.1%. So the business kept more of every naira it earned before tax last year. This year the tax bill jumped 119%, and that swallowed the whole improvement and then some. Earnings per share slipped to 32 kobo from 34 kobo. Why look at both lines: pre-tax profit tells you more about how the business itself is running. Here, gross margin improved to 40.61% from 34.05% as cost of sales fell. After-tax profit is what's actually left for shareholders. When the two move in opposite directions, the tax line is usually the first place to look. Next time you see a results headline on the NGX, check which profit it's quoting. Which do you watch first in results, pre-tax or after-tax profit? Tell us below 👇 Not financial advice.
Where we start: on Monday the All-Share Index rose 1.65% to 251,290.54, adding about ₦2.64trn to market value (now ₦163.16trn). That's back above 250,000 points. The headline hides a split market. $DANGCEM hit the 10% daily limit for a second session in a row, closing at ₦1,222.10, and banks like First HoldCo (+7.56%) and GTCO (+2.54%) chipped in. But only 24 stocks rose while 30 fell. A few heavyweights did most of the lifting. Three things worth watching in today's session: 1. Does Dangote Cement keep running? After two limit-up days, the question is whether buyers stay or some take profit. Because it's so big, its move alone can swing the index. 2. Does the rally broaden? If more stocks join in, Monday looks like the start of something. If breadth stays negative, it was mostly a one-stock day. 3. Results keep landing. $INTBREW reported a 21.86% jump in nine-month pre-tax profit to ₦90.44bn, but a much bigger tax bill cut after-tax profit 5.74% to ₦54.51bn. Transcorp posted ₦111.4bn pre-tax profit for 9M, down from ₦124.5bn a year ago. It's a reminder to look past the first number in any earnings headline. Also today: the Dangote Refinery IPO offer closes. Want to see how moves like these hit your own holdings? Add your portfolio on Gopexly and follow along. Not financial advice, just what's on the radar.
Monday's close: the All-Share Index rose 1.65% (+4,068.27 pts) to 251,290.54, its second straight gain. About ₦2.64trn was added to market value, which now stands at ₦163.16trn. Year to date, the index is up 61.48%. The big story was one stock. $DANGCEM rose the maximum 10% for a second session in a row, from ₦1,111 to ₦1,222.10. On Friday it went from ₦1,010 to ₦1,111, so that's two limit-up days back to back. It was also the most valuable trade of the day at ₦6.39bn, about a quarter of everything traded, and it lifted the Industrial Index 5.37%. Banks helped too. The Banking Index gained 2.34%, with First HoldCo up 7.56%, Access Holdings 4.15%, GTCO 2.54% and $ZENITHBA was also the most traded stock by volume at 25.92m shares. NGX Group added 8.20%. But look under the hood: more stocks fell than rose, 30 decliners against 24 gainers. A few heavyweights carried the index while the wider market was mixed. ABC Transport (-9.59% to ₦6.60), Caverton (-9.37% to ₦4.35) and Livestock Feeds (-9.09% to ₦15.50) led the losers. Honeywell Flour (+9.78% to ₦19.65) and Royal Exchange (+9.18% to ₦1.07) joined Dangote Cement at the top. Volume fell 46% to 329.53m shares, but value rose about 10% to ₦25.45bn across 43,700 deals. Why it matters: when one big stock moves this much, the index can rise even on a day when most stocks slip. Your own portfolio may have had a very different Monday from the headline number. Coming up: the Dangote Refinery IPO closes tomorrow, Oct 27, and more Q3 results are landing this week. Curious how today actually hit your holdings? Add your portfolio on Gopexly and see it in your own numbers. Not financial advice, just the close.
On Friday, Dangote Cement closed at ₦1,111 and First HoldCo at ₦144.10, both up exactly 10%. That isn't a coincidence. It's the NGX daily price limit at work. How it works: 1. Every listed stock on the NGX can move at most 10% up or 10% down in one trading day. 2. The band is measured from the previous day's closing price, not from the day's open. 3. So for $DANGCEM , Thursday's close of ₦1,010 set Friday's ceiling at ₦1,010 x 1.10 = ₦1,111. That's exactly where it closed. Why exchanges use limits: they slow things down. A big rumour or a surprise result can't send a share price up or down 40% in a single session, which gives everyone time to read the news before the next move. What a limit doesn't do: it doesn't make the demand (or the selling) go away. When a stock closes right at its +10% ceiling, it often means buyers wanted more than sellers were offering at that price, and some of that interest can carry into the next session. It can also fade. The price at the limit tells you about one day's pressure, not where the stock "should" be. One thing to remember when you read a stock moving 10% in a day: it's the biggest move the rules allow, so on the NGX "+10%" is often a ceiling, not a measurement. Have you ever watched a stock you own hit the limit? Tell us below 👇 Not financial advice.
Friday's close first: the All-Share Index rose 0.92% to 247,222.27, adding about ₦1.47trn in market value and ending a weak week on its best level. Volume jumped 69.57% to 611.66m shares. The move was narrow but heavy: $DANGCEM hit the 10% daily limit to close at ₦1,111, and First HoldCo also gained 10% to ₦144.10. Because the index is weighted by company size, two big names were enough to turn the whole market green. Three things worth watching this week: 1. The Dangote Refinery IPO closes tomorrow, Tuesday Oct 27, at ₦525 per share, and the company says there will be no further extension. It reported nine-month revenue of $22.5bn and a net profit of $4.73bn, up from a loss a year ago. Listing on the NGX is expected in November, and like any share, the price can move above or below the offer price once it trades. 2. The exchange itself reported. $NGXGROUP posted a nine-month profit after tax of ₦14.69bn, up 86.44%, on revenue of ₦27.26bn (up 79.79%). One detail worth noticing: the third quarter alone came in at ₦4.33bn, slightly below the ₦4.66bn of Q3 last year, so the year-to-date jump was built mostly in the first half. 3. Can Friday's rally hold? When a market rise rests on one or two heavyweights, the next sessions often show whether buying spreads to other stocks or fades. Watch whether gainers start to outnumber losers. Add your portfolio on Gopexly to see how your own holdings compare with the index. Not financial advice.
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