The Nigerian stock market ended last week in the red as investors sold off shares to rebalance their portfolios amid earnings releases and weak market sentiment. The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) lost over ₦421 billion in market value, pushing the All-Share Index (ASI) down by 0.62% to 107,821.39 points.
This decline broke the key 108,000-point psychological support level, signaling weak investor confidence. According to Cowry Asset Limited, the sell-off was driven by mixed corporate earnings reports and developments in the fixed-income market.
As a result, total market capitalization fell to ₦67.19 trillion, reflecting a 0.62% weekly contraction. Market data showed that declining stocks outnumbered gainers, with 60 stocks losing value compared to just 26 gainers. This imbalance further weakened investor sentiment.
Trading activity was relatively subdued, with total volume declining by 7.63% to 1.85 billion shares, exchanged in 63,090 deals—down from the 2 billion shares recorded in 70,853 deals the previous week. However, the total value of traded stocks increased slightly by 3.84% to ₦51.39 billion, indicating selective buying of undervalued stocks.
Most sectors recorded losses, with the Insurance Index performing the worst, dropping by 4.56% due to sell-offs in SUNU Assurances and Guinea Insurance. The Banking Index also declined by 3.08%, driven by losses in Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), Sterling Bank, and FBN Holdings.
The Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods sectors also experienced minor declines of 0.36% and 0.51%, respectively, due to losses in Union Dicon, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills, Multiverse, UPDC, and Cadbury.
However, the Oil & Gas sector bucked the trend, with the Oil & Gas Index posting gains. Stocks like Oando, Aradel Holdings, and Eterna drove the sector’s positive performance. The commodities sector also showed resilience, supported by gains in Okomu Oil.
Among the top gainers, PZ Cussons led the pack with a 31.1% increase, followed by CAVERTON (22.9%), Livestock Feeds (22.8%), and UHOMREIT (20.9%). ABC Transport also gained 15.4% due to renewed investor interest.
Conversely, SUNU Assurances was the worst-performing stock, shedding 19.5% of its value due to heavy sell pressure. Eunisell lost 18.7%, while Learn Africa, Guinea Insurance, and International Energy Insurance fell by 16.5%, 15.8%, and 13.6%, respectively.
Looking ahead, Cowry Asset Limited expects a mixed performance in the stock market. While profit-taking may continue, some investors are likely to reposition their portfolios based on upcoming corporate earnings reports, which could trigger a slight recovery.
