Nigerian Exchange Drops by N109bn as Investors Take Profits
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation was knocked down as bear and bull fight for attention in the equities segment of the market by sell side actors’ activities. Despite the release of Tier-1 banks earnings, market direction was stuck in bear region with selloffs across sectoral indexes.
The NGX gravitates both side but closed negative as three inactive stocks were delisted for their inability to meet regulatory requirements in the just conclusive week. The Nigerian market opened April on a bearish note, extending the negative momentum from March, which ended with a 2.0% month-on-month decline.
In a holiday-shortened trading week, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 0.14% week-on-week to close at 105,511.89 points, despite the release of impressive 2024 audited financials and generous dividend declarations, particularly from the banking sector.
Equities investor sentiment remained cautious as portfolio rebalancing activities marked the start of a new trading quarter, Cowry Asset Limited said in its market update.
During the week, the Nigerian Exchange announced the regulatory delisting of Capital Oil Plc, Goldlink Insurance Plc, and Medview Airlines Plc for failing to meet listing requirements.
Despite recent volatility, the year-to-date return on the NGX still printed a modest +2.51%. Market activity was notably subdued.
Stockbrokers said total trades dropped by 30.85% week-on-week to 42,397 transactions, while volume and value traded declined significantly by 84.26% and 92.76%, respectively, to 1.18 billion units valued at N28.87 billion, owing to the reduced number of trading sessions.
The exchange recorded 21 gainers against 51 laggards, resulting in a weak market breadth of 0.41x, underscoring the prevailing bearish sentiment.
On the sectoral front, performance was largely negative, with the exception of the NGX Banking Index, which rose by 1.50% week-on-week, buoyed by positive sentiment in GTCO, FIDELITYBNK, ACCESSCORP, and WEMABANK.
Meanwhile, the Insurance Index led sectoral losses, declining by 5.36%, followed by Oil & Gas (-1.20%), Consumer Goods (- 0.70%), and Industrial Goods (-0.22%), driven by sell-offs in SUNUASSURE, UNIVINSURE, OANDO, TANTALIZER, PZ Cussons, WAPCO, and CUTIX.
The Commodity Index remained flat for the week. Top-performing stocks for the week included VFDGROUP (+20.8%), UNIONDICON (+19.60%), AFRIPRUD (+15.7%), NGXGROUP (+11.9%), and UPDCREIT (+10.9%).
Conversely, UACN (-18.3%), SUNUASSUR (-13.4%), UNIVINSURE (- 13.3%), OANDO (-13.1%), and CHIPLC (-12.8%) ranked among the worst performers. Overall, the market capitalisation of listed equities declined by N109.98 billion, representing a 0.17% week-on-week loss to settle at N66.15 trillion.
Stock analysts at Cowry Asset Limited said the market is expected to trade mixed in the coming week as investors respond to ongoing dividend announcements and seek to reinvest earnings in fundamentally strong stocks.
However, global market developments and local macroeconomic signals will continue to shape investor sentiment and market direction. #Nigerian Exchange Drops by N109bn as Investors Take Profits Yield Slides on Post Auction Demand for Nigerian Treasury Bills
