By Peter Egwuatu
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) ended trading, last week, on a weaker note extending the bearish trend as investors continued profit taking and cautious repositioning across major sectors.
The negative performance, according to analysts, reflected renewed sell pressures across the banking, consumer goods, and industrial goods sectors, as investors reacted to mixed earnings results and tight liquidity conditions in the broader economy.
A review of the market performance showed that about N2.8 trillion was lost in the equities market. Specifically, the market capitalisation, which represents the total value of shares on the NGX declined to N94.998 trillion from N97.830 trillion in the previous week.
In the same vein, another major performance indicator, NGX All Share Index, ASI, nose dived by 3.5% to close at 149,524.81 points from 154,826.45 points the previous week.
Meanwhile, a total turnover of 3.575 billion shares worth N107.011 billion in 146,429 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 7.479 billion shares valued at N145.429 billion that exchanged hands last week in 159,487 deals.
The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 2.946 billion shares valued at N65.904 billion traded in 62,817 deals; thus 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. Third place was the Consumer Goods Industry, with 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, contributing 36.03% and 18.08% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Commenting on 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”.
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