At the end of last week’s trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, stock investors lost N136 billion. The All-Share Index fell by 0.48 percent, or 250.69 basis points, to settle at 52,214.62 on Friday, reflecting mixed feelings.
Except for the NGX Main Board, NGX 30, NGX Banking, NGX AFR Bank Value, NGX MERI Value, NGX Industrial Goods, and NGX Sovereign Bond, which fell by 0.85 percent, 0.12 percent, 0.99 percent, 1.45 percent, 1.11 percent, 3.36 percent, and 4.83 percent, respectively, the other indices finished higher, while the NGX ASeM index closed flat.
Year-to-date returns increased to 1.88 percent at the end of the week, up from 1.78 percent on Thursday. In the previous trading week, investors on the NGX floor traded 3.602 billion shares worth N36.451 billion in 27,801 transactions, compared to 2.973 billion shares worth N22.828 billion sold in 23,765 transactions the previous week.
The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) dominated the activity chart with 3.150 billion shares worth N27.484 billion exchanged in 14,987 transactions, accounting for 87.47 percent of total equity turnover volume and 75.40 percent of total stock turnover value.
The Conglomerates Industry came in second with 99.394 million shares worth N219.455 million in 901 transactions. The Consumer Goods Industry came in third place, with a turnover of 87.434 million shares worth N1.628 billion in 3,768 transactions.
Trading in the top three equities, namely Fidelity Bank Plc, Access Holdings Plc, and FBN Holdings Plc, accounted for 2.167 billion shares worth N18.650 billion in 5,083 transactions, accounting for 60.17 percent and 51.16 percent of total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
In the preceding week, 48 shares gained less than 51 equities. 30 stocks declined in value, up from 26 the previous week, while 78 stocks were steady, down from 79 the previous week.
The Computer Warehouse Group led the gainers’ table, with shares up 56.82 percent to settle at N2.07, and Ardova Plc up 37.50 percent to close at N26.40. Transnational Corporation Plc increased by 33.51 per cent to close at N2.59, Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc gained 32.90 per cent to close at N4.12 and Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc gained 27.27 per cent to close at N0.42.
C &I Leasing led the losers’ chart with a 19.60% drop to N3.20, followed by Access Holdings Plc with a 12% drop to N9.90, Royal Exchange Plc with a 11.48% drop to N0.54, Sunu Assurances Nigeria Plc with a 9.26% drop to N0.49, and Bua Cement with an 8.02% drop to N90.
Analysts at SCM Capital predicted that the market’s conflicting feelings would endure, even as bargain hunters acquired positions in fundamentally good equities with strong first-quarter profits.
Bismarck Rewane, Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer, Financial Derivatives Company Ltd, informed attendees at the Lagos Business School Breakfast meeting (May edition) that the impact of the cashless policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria would remain a threat to consumers’ purchasing power and would likely weigh on the second quarter performance of corporates.
“However, it will be offset by improved digital services and increased availability of cash,” he said.
