Equities Investors Lose N1.22trn on NGX in 5-Day
Equities investors lost N1.22 trillion in bearish trades that lasted for five trading sessions on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) platform last week. The downhill trading sentiment ended a 3-week successive bullish run.
The sharp selloffs reversed 5-day rally experience in the local bourse in the previous week. The market temperature was generally despite the third quarter of the 2024 earnings festival, which has seen mixed results.
Hence, the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index (ASI) fell 2.03% week-on-week, closing at 97,432.02 points due to subdued investor sentiment. Trading patterns showed there were significant sell-offs across key sectors, particularly in industrial, insurance, and consumer goods, amidst Oct earnings releases.
In its market update, Cowry Asset Limited said the decline reflects cautious trading behaviour amid ongoing portfolio rebalancing, with investors grappling with economic uncertainties and the latest macroeconomic data releases.
As a result, the year-to-date return moderated to 30.30% as 45 stocks lost ground compared to 39 gainers. Sectoral performance over the week reflected widespread losses, according to stockbrokers.
The NGX-Industrial Goods sector dipped by 3.70% week-on-week, driven by significant drops in stocks like BUA CEMENT, UPDC, and CAVERTON.
Both the Consumer Goods and Insurance sectors also down as REGALINS, ROYALEX, CADBURY, HONYFLOUR, and MCNICHOLS saw reduced trading activity and price depreciation.
In contrast, the Oil & Gas sector emerged as the primary gainer, up by 1.15% week-on-week despite continued sell pressure on ARADEL. Stock analysts at Cowry Asset Limited said the positive performance in this sector was largely buoyed by robust sentiment surrounding CONOIL and ETERNA.
Additionally, the Banking index posted modest gains of 0.19% week-on-week, thanks to upward price movements in GTCO, ZENITH, and FIDELITYBNK.
Trading activities on NGX ended on a mixed note, with rebalancing activities intensifying sell-off pressure. NGX data showed the number of trades increased by 13.7% from the previous week, reaching 46,848 deals. However, the weekly trade value fell sharply by 36.4% to N54.63 billion, while the traded volume rose by 26.9% week-on-week to 2.72 billion shares.
Top weekly gainers include EUNISELL (+61%), JOHNHOLT (+20%), UPL (+18%), LIVESTOCK (+12%), and NNFM (+12%), which drew strong investor interest. Conversely, the top decliners included ARADEL (-26%), CAVERTON (-20%), ELLAHLAKES (-13%), REGALINS (-13%), and ROYALEX (-11%).
Overall, the equities market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange fell by N1.22 trillion week on week to N59.04 trillion on Friday. #Equities Investors Lose N1.22trn on NGX in 5-Day Ghana to Import Petroleum from Dangote Refinery – Official
