Equities investors lose N476bn as bearish trend dominates trading week
BY MOTOLANI OSENI
The Nigerian equities market extended its losing streak last week, with bearish sentiments driving a N476 billion decline in market capitalisation.
Despite a brief respite on one trading day, the market suffered losses in four out of five sessions, reflecting sustained portfolio rebalancing by investors.
The All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 1.19 per cent week-on-week (W-o-W) to 106,538.60 points, while market capitalisation shed 0.71 per cent to close at N66.717 trillion.
This decline persisted despite the listing of additional shares—1.104 billion from Ellah Lakes and 18.200 billion from Fidelity Bank—on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
Sectoral performance was largely negative, with financial stocks leading the downturn. The NGX Banking and NGX Insurance indices declined by 2.87 per cent and 2.33 per cent, respectively.
The NGX Consumer Goods index followed with a 1.72 per cent drop, while the NGX Oil & Gas index slipped 0.19 per cent. The NGX Industrial Goods index remained relatively flat, dipping by a marginal 0.01 per cent. However, the NGX Commodity index managed to post a 0.19 per cent gain, offering a silver lining amid the general downturn.
Market breadth remained weak, as 58 stocks recorded losses against 30 gainers, while 62 equities closed unchanged. Tantalizers led the gainers’ chart with a 36.32 per cent surge to N2.59 per share, followed by UH Real Estate Investment Trust, which gained 28.59 per cent to close at N56.90. Livestock Feeds also advanced by 12.38 per cent to settle at N8.35 per share.
Conversely, Eterna led the decliners’ table, dropping 18.69 per cent to N34.15 per share. Transnational Corporation followed with a 17.72 per cent loss to N46.90, while FCMB Group fell 14.15 per cent to N9.10 per share.
READ ALSO: Leadership crisis hits Northern CAN
Overall, investors traded 1.818 billion shares worth N47.226 billion in 64,222 deals, compared to the previous week’s turnover of 1.848 billion shares valued at N51.387 billion in 63,090 deals.
Looking ahead, Cowry Asset Management Limited noted that the market remains poised for a battle between bulls and bears, with investors awaiting the release of top-tier banks’ audited financials, a potential catalyst for market sentiment. However, the firm also highlighted that the market’s overbought position could prompt caution.
Similarly, Afrinvest Limited projected a possible mild rebound driven by bargain hunting, as investors take advantage of attractive stock valuations amid a sustained easing of yields in the fixed-income segment.
