The Nigerian equities market concluded the week on a negative note, with a significant decline in market capitalization and the benchmark NGX All-Share Index. The market capitalization of listed equities depreciated by 0.50% to N162.842 trillion from N163.655 trillion reported the previous week. This decline was primarily attributed to renewed sell-offs in selected heavyweight stocks, which outweighed gains across several other sectors.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index declined by 0.52% week-on-week to close at 250,808.27 points from 252,113.41 traded two weeks ago. Despite the decline in the headline index, the underlying market breadth remained positive, with 44 gainers against 37 losers. This positive breadth resulted in the year-to-date return moderating at 61.17%, although equities remained firmly in positive territory on a cumulative basis.
However, the positive market breadth was insufficient to offset losses in some of the market's larger-cap and influential stocks, which exerted greater pressure on the ASI. Trading activity also weakened across key market indicators, reflecting a more cautious investor stance. The number of deals, trading volume, and transaction value declined by 22.65%, 32.48%, and 35.63% week-on-week, respectively.
In terms of trading activity, investors exchanged 3.166 billion shares valued at N155.023 billion across 206,662 deals during the week. This represents a decline compared to the 4.689 billion shares valued at N240.824 billion exchanged in 261,198 deals the previous week. The decline in both volume and value indicates softer participation compared with the preceding week, as investors appeared more selective amid recent market volatility and profit-taking pressures.
A review of the trading for the week showed that the Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 1.944 billion shares valued at N77.733 billion traded in 92,035 deals. This contributed 61.41% and 50.14% to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively. The Investment Industry followed with 409.484 million shares worth N5.400 billion in 1,444 deals.
The top three equities, namely Fidelity Bank Plc, VFD Group Plc, and Access Holdings Plc, accounted for 1.343 billion shares worth N27.580 billion in 15,771 deals. This contributed 42.42% and 17.79% to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively. Sectoral performance was mixed, with the Insurance sector emerging as the strongest-performing segment, advancing by 0.61% week-on-week.
In contrast, the Banking sector led the decliners with a 1.33% week-on-week contraction, reflecting continued pressure on some banking shares. The Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods sectors also declined by 0.91% and 0.26%, respectively, while the Commodity sector remained unchanged at 0.00%. The ICT sector recorded a turnover of 231.705 million shares worth N9.606 billion in 24,133 deals.
Key points
- The Nigerian equities market shed N813 billion as sell-offs in heavyweight stocks outweighed gains in other sectors.
- The market capitalization depreciated by 0.50% to N162.842 trillion from N163.655 trillion.
- The Insurance sector was the strongest-performing segment, advancing by 0.61% week-on-week.
