The Nigerian Exchange concluded trading last week on a weaker note, extending the bearish trend as investors engaged in continued profit-taking and cautious repositioning across major sectors.
This negative performance, according to analysts, reflected renewed sell pressures specifically observed across the banking, consumer goods, and industrial goods sectors.
These actions came as investors reacted to mixed corporate earnings results and the prevailing tight liquidity conditions in the broader Nigerian economy. A review of the market performance showed that approximately N2.8 trillion was lost in the equities market during the week.
Specifically, the market capitalisation, which represents the total value of shares on the NGX, declined significantly from N97.830 trillion in the previous week to N94.998 trillion.
In the same vein, the NGX All Share Index, another major performance indicator, nose-dived by 3.5%, closing the week at 149,524.81 points down from 154,826.45 points recorded the previous week.
Meanwhile, a total turnover of 3.575 billion shares valued at N107.011 billion was traded in 146,429 deals last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange. This contrasted sharply with the previous week, which saw a total of 7.479 billion shares valued at N145.429 billion exchanged hands in 159,487 deals.
The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) dominated the activity chart with 2.946 billion shares valued at N65.904 billion traded in 62,817 deals, contributing 82.39% and 61.59% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The Services Industry followed with 147.325 million shares worth N1.511 billion in 7,656 deals, while the Consumer Goods Industry took the third spot, recording a turnover of 147.307 million shares worth N11.195 billion in 18,644 deals.
Trading in the top three equities—namely Fidelity Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc, and Aso Savings & Loans Plc (measured by volume)—accounted for 1.288 billion shares worth N19.300 billion in 11,536 deals, collectively contributing 36.03% and 18.08% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Commenting on the market outlook, analysts at InvestData Consulting Limited stated, ”Looking ahead, the coming week is expected to maintain a mixed tone, shaped by the interplay of bargain hunting and continued profit-taking. Investors are likely to remain cautious as they digest upcoming macroeconomic data, inflation figures, and central bank policy direction. The market may also experience intermittent rebounds driven by technical corrections, especially in stocks that have declined significantly from their recent highs. Medium to long-term investors may find this period attractive for selective accumulation of value stocks ahead of the year-end rally, which could be fueled by dividend expectations and portfolio rebalancing”.
