Investors Lose N713bn as Equities Snap 12-Week Winning Streak

Samuel Mobolaji

The Nigerian equities market ended its 12-week winning run last week, as bearish trading wiped off N713 billion from investors’ wealth.

The NGX All-Share Index fell by 0.77 per cent week-on-week to close at 144,628.20 points, while market capitalisation dropped to N91.502 trillion.

Losses in MTN Nigeria, International Breweries, and Lafarge Africa drove the downturn, despite a broadly positive market breadth that saw 50 gainers against 49 losers and 47 unchanged.

Mutual Benefits Assurance led the gainers’ chart with a 31.85 per cent rise to N3.85 per share, followed by Tripple Gee and Company with a 30.23 per cent gain to N5.60, and SUNU Assurance up 23.80 per cent to N6.19.

On the flip side, UPDC topped the losers’ table with a 17.72 per cent decline to N6.50 per share, while LivingTrust Mortgage Bank and Berger Paints fell 16 per cent and 14.67 per cent, respectively.

A total turnover of 8.564 billion shares valued at N99.936 billion in 177,870 deals was recorded, compared to 8.736 billion shares worth N134.577 billion traded the previous week.

Looking ahead, analysts expect cautious trading to persist. Cowry Asset Management noted that investors are balancing profit-taking with bargain hunting, with July CPI figures and portfolio reshuffling likely to shape market mood. Afrinvest Limited added that mixed sentiment will dominate trading this week, though with a bearish bias.