Last week, equities investors lost N1.22 trillion in negative transactions on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) platform, spanning five trading sessions. The sliding trade mood halted a three-week bullish streak.
The massive selloffs overturned the local bourse’s 5-day surge from the previous week. Despite the varied outcomes of the third quarter of the 2024 earnings festival, the market temperature remained rather stable.
As a result, the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index (ASI) declined 2.03% week on week, finishing at 97,432.02 points, owing to low market mood. Trading patterns revealed strong sell-offs in major sectors, including industrial, insurance, and consumer goods, ahead of October results announcements.
Cowry Asset Limited stated in its market report that the fall indicates cautious trading behaviour amid continuing portfolio rebalancing, with investors contending with economic uncertainty and the most recent macroeconomic data releases.
As a result, the year-to-date return fell to 30.30%, with 45 equities losing ground vs 39 gains. Stockbrokers reported that sectoral performance this week represented broad losses.
The NGX-Industrial Goods sector down 3.70% week on week, led by sharp decreases in equities such as BUA CEMENT, UPDC, and CAVERTON.
The Consumer Goods and Insurance sectors were also down, with REGALINS, ROYALEX, CADBURY, HONYFLOUR, and MCNICHOLS experiencing lower trading activity and price declines.
In contrast, the Oil & Gas sector emerged as the primary gainer, up by 1.15% week-on-week despite continued sell pressure on ARADEL. Stock analysts at Cowry Asset Limited said the positive performance in this sector was largely buoyed by robust sentiment surrounding CONOIL and ETERNA.
Additionally, the Banking index posted modest gains of 0.19% week-on-week, thanks to upward price movements in GTCO, ZENITH, and FIDELITYBNK.
Trading activities on NGX ended on a mixed note, with rebalancing activities intensifying sell-off pressure. NGX data showed the number of trades increased by 13.7% from the previous week, reaching 46,848 deals. However, the weekly trade value fell sharply by 36.4% to N54.63 billion, while the traded volume rose by 26.9% week-on-week to 2.72 billion shares.
Top weekly gainers include EUNISELL (+61%), JOHNHOLT (+20%), UPL (+18%), LIVESTOCK (+12%), and NNFM (+12%), which drew strong investor interest. Conversely, the top decliners included ARADEL (-26%), CAVERTON (-20%), ELLAHLAKES (-13%), REGALINS (-13%), and ROYALEX (-11%).
Overall, the equities market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange fell by N1.22 trillion week on week to N59.04 trillion on Friday.
