NGX Sheds N479bn as Investors Take Profits
The equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) recorded about N479 billion loss as investors traded exits amidst the US bank crisis that sent jittery across the markets.
Last week, the stock market benchmark index declined 1.5% to 54,915.39 points. Consequently, year-to-date return fell to 7.2% as the total market cap slumped to ₦29.9 trillion.
On account of weak sentiment, trading activity level dampened as average volume and value traded dipped 16.6% and 41.4% week on week to 170.7 million units and ₦2.4 billion respectively.
The top traded stocks by volume were TRANSCORP (74.2m units), STERLNBANK (68.3m units), and ZENITH (64.6m units) while ZENITH (₦1.6bn), NGXGROUP (₦1.4bn), and GTCO (₦1.3bn) led trade by value.
Following this large profit-taking seen at the Lagos bourse, Afrinvest Limited said performance across its analysts’ coverage sectors was underwhelming as 4 indices lost, 1 gained while the Oil & Gas index closed flat.
The Banking and Insurance indices led the laggards, down 4.6% and 2.4% Week on week respectively on account of selloffs in ZENITH (-4.7%), ETI (-10.0%), AIICO (-6.6%), and MANSARD (-4.8%).
Following, the AFR-ICT and Industrial Goods indices dipped 2.3% and 0.3% respectively, driven by price decline in MTNN (-5.0%), WAPCO (-4.9%), and CUTIX (-1.4%) in the week.
Conversely, the Consumer Goods index was the sole gainer, appreciating 1.4% week on week following price uptick on BUAFOODS (+4.2%), UNILEVER (+3.7%) and CHAMPION (+2.2%).
Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, weakened to -0.3x from -0.2x recorded in the previous week as 19 stocks gained, 46 lost, while 87 were unchanged.
The top-performing stocks for the week were PRESTIGE (+9.8%), ENAMELWA (+9.6%), and UPL (+9.3%) while UCAP (-16.7%), LINKASSURE (-10.9%), and ETI (-10.0%) were the top underperforming stocks.
In the new week, Afrinvest stockbrokers said they expect buying interest to drive a positive performance as investors cherry-pick attractive tickers. Reactions continue to trail bank crisis in the US, signalling a possible slowdown in interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve
#NGX Sheds N479bn as Investors Take Profits
