Equities Market Sheds 0.15% as Investors Lose N7.80bn Amid Weak Trading Activity
Samuel Mobolaji
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) endured another setback this week, with the All-Share Index (ASI) falling by 0.15%, extending last week’s losses.
Despite the listing of 16.67 billion additional shares in Sterling Bank (STERLINGNG) at N4.50 per share, market capitalisation slipped by N7.80 billion, reducing the total market value to N66.34 trillion. This increase in shares raised the bank’s total issued shares to 45.46 billion.
Trading activity reflected ongoing market weakness, as the market breadth weakened to 0.51x, down from 0.92x, with 35 decliners outweighing 18 advancers. The Up/Down ratio dropped to 1.12x, signalling further bearish sentiment.
Read Also: Inspenonline Summit to Advocate Good Retirement Amid Economic Headwinds
The increasing TRIN ratio of 0.13 indicated low buying pressure, contributing to a 36.38 per cent decline in total volume traded, which closed at 477.51 million units. The value traded also fell by 36.25 per cent, closing at N7.04 billion across 13,520 deals.
Sectoral performance mirrored the overall market downturn, with the Insurance index leading losses. Stocks like SUNUASSUR (-9.92%), PRESTIGE (-8.26%), and SOVRENINS (-7.77%) were major contributors to the sector’s decline.
The Consumer Goods sector followed with a 0.38 per cent drop, while the Banking index fell by 0.20 per cent, mainly due to losses in ACCESSCORP (-0.21%), FIDELITYBK (-2.04%), and ZENITHBANK (-0.52%). The Oil & Gas index also experienced a 0.19 per cent dip, driven by OANDO (-2.02%).
Financial services stocks dominated the trading activity, with JAIZBANK, ZENITHBANK, SOVRENINS, PRESTIGE, and FIDELITYBK accounting for 58 per cent of the total volume traded. MTNN led in value traded, recording N1.3 billion, followed by ZENITHBANK with N1.23 billion, despite no price movement.
Meanwhile, the NASD OTC market opened the week on a positive note, with the NASD Securities Index (NSI) rising by 0.15 per cent to 3,368.6, driven by gains in SDOKITIPUPA (+2.49%), SDGEFLUID (+2.07%), and SDFCWAMCO (+2.00%).
Market capitalisation rose to N1.94 trillion. However, trading activity slowed, with volume falling by 55.79 per cent to 288,383 units and value traded declining by 45.27 per cent to N18.16 million.
The number of executed trades also dropped by 27.03 per cent, reflecting reduced market participation.
About The Author
