Investors Gain N50bn in One Week Amid Mixed Sector Performance

Samuel Mobolaji

The Nigerian stock market posted a modest gain last week, with investors seeing a N50 billion rise in market capitalization despite mixed performance across sectors.

The All-Share Index (ASI) edged up by 0.09 per cent to close at 97,606.63 points, bringing market capitalization to N56.088 trillion.

Sectoral performance varied, with the NGX Oil & Gas index leading the gains, up 1.57 per cent week-on-week. The NGX Banking and NGX Insurance indices followed with 0.47 per cent and 0.08 per cent increases, respectively.

However, the Consumer Goods sector fell by 1.25 per cent, while the Industrial Goods sector slipped by 0.13 per cent.

In total, 29 stocks gained, while 52 declined, reflecting a negative market breadth. Despite the mixed sectoral results, key performers like MeCure Industries, which rose by 19.53 per cent, and University Press, up 17.51 per cent, helped buoy market sentiment.

On the losing side, Tripple Gee and Company topped the decliners’ list, dropping by 59.56 per cent to close at N2.01 per share. DAAR Communications followed closely, shedding 25.00 per cent to close at 57 kobo, while Africa Prudential declined by 13.15 per cent to close at N9.25 per share.

Total trading volume for the week stood at 2.966 billion shares, worth N31.508 billion, traded in 42,482 deals. This represented a slight increase in volume compared to the previous week’s 2.872 billion shares valued at N132.811 billion in 39,867 deals. The Financial Services sector dominated trading activity, with 1.485 billion shares valued at N17.965 billion traded in 19,613 deals, contributing 50.05 per cent of the total volume and 57.02 per cent of the total value.

The Services sector followed with 1.108 billion shares worth N775.258 million traded in 2,675 deals, while the Agriculture sector saw a turnover of 93.904 million shares worth N1.250 billion in 2,517 deals.

Tantalizer, Coronation Insurance, and Fidelity Bank were the most actively traded stocks by volume, accounting for 1.625 billion shares worth N3.908 billion in 1,814 deals, contributing 54.80 per cent of the total volume and 12.40 per cent of the total value traded.

Despite a challenging market breadth and sectoral volatility, the modest gain for the week highlights investor confidence in certain key sectors. The focus now shifts to how the market navigates potential headwinds in the coming week, with investor sentiment likely to be influenced by ongoing sectoral performance and broader economic indicators.

Analysts, therefore, projected that the Nigerian stock market performance will be positive this week as market players continued to take profit and reposition their portfolio ahead of quarterly earnings.

On market outlook, the chief operating officer of InvestData Consulting Limited, Ambrose Omordion said, “we expect mixed sentiment to continue on profit taking, buying interests and portfolio rebalancing ahead of the Q3 earnings reporting session. Also, sector rotation continues in the market, with investors taking advantage of pullbacks to buy into value.

“This is amid the volatility and pullbacks that add more strength to upside potential. Consequently, investors should take advantage of price correction. Also looking at the trends and events across the globe and domestically.”

Analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited noted that, the modest gains recorded in last week trading week reflect investor confidence slowly returning to the market, with expectations of further rebounds supported by anticipated earnings releases and the impact of government reforms on economic growth.

“We anticipate the currently trend of mild gains to continue on the local bourse, buoyed by the release of Q3 earnings report by majorly the early filers. Meanwhile, we continue to advise investors to focus on fundamentally sound stocks”, Cowry said.