Equities market stumbles by 0.01% WoW

The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a bearish note as the Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (NGX ASI) edged down by 0.01per cent W/Week (W/W) to 105,511.89 basis points, tempering the year-to-date return to 2.51 per cent.

Market capitalization mirrored the decline, shedding N6.38 billion to settle at N66.15 trillion, underscoring tepid investor confidence.

The weeklong downturn was exacerbated by sell pressures on OANDO (-13.1 per cent) and Firstholdco (-7.6 per cent), which pulled the NGX ASI down by 0.1 per cent w/w.

A cautious trading stance prevailed, partly attributed to the holiday-shortened week, as market volume and value plummeted by 84.4 per cent and 92.8 per cent w/w, respectively.

Sectoral performance skewed negative, with the Insurance (-4.1 per cent), Oil & Gas (-1.2 per cent), Consumer Goods (-0.9 per cent), and Industrial Goods (-0.2 per cent) indices retreating, while the Banking sector managed a 0.2 per cent uptick.

On Friday, a broad-based selloff weighed on market breadth, with 29 decliners overwhelming 19 advancers. Top gainers of the session included Learn Africa (+10 per cent),  (+10.00per cent), VFDGROUP (+9.83per cennt), Uniondicon (+9.43per cent), and Ngx Group (+8.17per cent).

Conversely, LASACO (-10 per cent), Mansard (-10 per cent), Maybaker (-8.72 per cent), Guineains (-8.70 per cent), and Ftncocoa (-6.43 per cent) led the laggards.

Sectoral performance reflected a mixed market mood. The Banking and Industrial Goods indices eked out marginal gains of 0.51 per cent and 0.01 per cent, respectively, while Insurance (-3.21 per cent), Consumer Goods (-0.24 per cent), and Oil & Gas (-0.50 per cent) sectors succumbed to losses. The Commodities index remained flat.

Trading activity took a hit, with transaction volume, value, and number of deals contracting by 12.30 per cent, 7.26 per cent, and 16.27 per cent, respectively. The session recorded 11,444 transactions, with 348.28 million units traded, valued at N8.11 billion.

Looking ahead, the market is likely to maintain a cautious tone in the absence of strong bullish catalysts. However, fresh dividend declarations and upcoming earnings releases from key banking stocks such as Accesscorp and Firstholdco could ignite selective bargain hunting.