Investors Suffer N2bn Loss as Bearish Sentiment Dominates Weekly Market Sessions

Samuel Mobolaji

The market witnessed a bearish trend last week, resulting in a loss of N2 billion for investors as three out of five trading sessions closed in the red.

The All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 1.16 per cent on a week-on-week basis, closing at 95,973.45 points. This decline was primarily driven by pressured sell-offs in the consumer goods and industrial goods sectors, reflecting ongoing market volatility. By the end of the week, the market capitalization had dropped to N55.129 trillion.

Despite the overall downturn, the sectoral performance showed a mixed picture. The NGX Oil & Gas index emerged as the top performer, posting a gain of 3.54 per cent for the week. The NGX Insurance index also showed strength, rising by 1.90 per cent, while the NGX Banking index managed a modest increase of 0.37 per cent week-on-week.

Conversely, the NGX Industrial Goods and NGX Consumer Goods indices recorded significant declines of 4.94 per cent and 1.42 per cent, respectively, on a week-on-week basis.

Despite the bearish trend, market breadth remained positive, with 43 equities appreciating in price, 34 declining, and 74 remaining unchanged. Notably, R T Briscoe led the gainers’ table with a remarkable increase of 59.41 per cent, closing at N2.71 per share. Tantalizers followed closely, gaining 54.55 per cent to close at 68 kobo, while Oando rose by 33.47 per cent to N47.85 per share.

On the flip side, Cutix topped the decliners’ chart with a significant drop of 37.37 per cent, closing at N3.10 per share. Dangote Cement saw a loss of 10.00 per cent, ending the week at N532.00, while The Initiates Plc (TIP) declined by 9.78 per cent to N2.03 per share.

In terms of market activity, a total turnover of 5.641 billion shares valued at N33.052 billion was traded in 42,006 deals, marking an increase from the previous week’s turnover of 2.033 billion shares worth N42.155 billion in 45,157 deals.

The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart, with 4.977 billion shares valued at N17.877 billion traded in 19,064 deals, accounting for 88.22 per cent of total equity turnover volume and 54.09 per cent of the value.

The Oil and Gas Industry followed with 179.469 million shares worth N8.954 billion traded in 5,780 deals. Meanwhile, the Services Industry recorded a turnover of 123.505 million shares worth N525.417 million in 2,436 deals.

Among individual equities, trading in Standard Insurance, Jaiz Bank, and Guaranty Trust Holdings Company was particularly robust, accounting for 3.951 billion shares valued at N7.947 billion in 1,839 deals. These three stocks collectively contributed 70.04 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and 24.04 per cent to the value, highlighting their significant influence on overall market activity.

As investors navigate the current market volatility, the mixed sectoral performance and varied individual stock movements underscore the importance of a strategic approach to portfolio management.