Equities Investors Lose N832bn, Oversold Stock to Gain Attention
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) sank by N832 billion to N89.94 trillion as sell pressures continue to dominate trading activities in the local bourse. However, stockbrokers said some counters have been oversold, and possibility those under-priced stock could court investors’ attention in the new week.
Trading details revealed strong bearish trend persisted driven by investors’ weak buying sentiment and risk-off positioning, dragging key performance indicators lower.
Stockbrokers reported that the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) shed 0.94% week-on-week to close at 138,980.01 points, down from 140,295.49 points in the prior week.
As a result of profit taking activities on some mid and large cap stock, NGX market capitalisation fell by N832 billion to N87.94 trillion, trimming the year-to-date return to 35.03%.
The persistent downturn highlights lingering macroeconomic uncertainties that have tempered investors’ appetite for risk assets, stock analyst at Cowry Asset Limited said in an update for the week.
Stockbrokers noted that trading pattern observed underscored the subdued mood in the market. Total deals contracted by 17.43% to 117,791, while traded volume also declined by 2.66% to 3.11 billion units.
Interestingly, market turnover bucked the trend, rising by 5.53% to N90.20 billion, and stockbrokers at Cowry Asset Limited said this suggest that while participation thinned, transactions were skewed towards higher-value counters.
The market breadth remained weak at 0.30x on the back of sustained sell pressures, with only 19 gainers against 63 decliners, reflecting the depth of negative sentiment across listed equities.
Sectoral performance reflected the breadth of the bearish mood, with five of the six tracked indices closing in the red. The Industrial Goods Index bore the brunt of the selloffs, slipping 2.08% week-on-week as mid- to large-cap counters came under sustained pressure.
The Banking Index also weakened by 1.52%, reflecting cautious investor positioning in financial stocks amid tight system liquidity and elevated funding costs.
Likewise, the Consumer Goods, Oil & Gas, and Insurance indices shed 1.18%, 0.77%, and 0.36%, respectively, underscoring the broad-based nature of the market’s downturn.
The lone exception was the Commodity Index, which managed a marginal 0.04% uptick, though insufficient to offset the wider bearish sentiment.
At the stock level, stockbrokers reported that price action was mixed, with only a handful of gainers standing out against a sea of decliners.
Top gainers last week include SOVRENINS (+14.2%), NSLTECH (+12.9%), CORNEST (+12.4%), NCR (+10.0%), and SCOA (+10.0%), reflecting selective interest in small- to mid-cap names.
On the flip side, heavy losses were recorded in DAARCOMM (-21.1%), UPDC (-13.8%), AIICO (-13.6%), CHAMPION (-13.3%), and PZ (-13.3%), further weighing on overall market breadth.
“We expect the Nigerian equities market to trade cautiously, with sentiment likely to remain weak amid persistent macroeconomic headwinds such as currency pressures, inflation expectation, and uncertainty around monetary policy direction”, Cowry Asset Limited said.
The firm added that while bargain-hunting in oversold stocks could trigger mild recoveries in select counters, overall market performance is expected to stay broadly bearish, with investor appetite for risk assets still subdued.
“The sharp contrast between the few outperformers and the numerous laggards highlights persistent investor caution, as negative sentiment continues to dominate sectoral flows. We continue to advise investors to take position in stocks with strong fundamentals2, Cowry Asset Limited told investors. #Equities Investors Lose N832bn, Oversold Stock to Gain Attention#
