Riskoff- Nigerian Stock Market Declines N4.4trn to N156trn
The Nigerian stock market shed N4.41 trillion over the last five trading sessions as investor sentiment turned negative, with some efforts channelled into portfolio rebalancing.
The sell-off pressure was linked to market corrections, capital rotation away from overbought stocks, and preparations for the Dangote Refinery’s initial public offering.
The stock market closed the week on a bearish note as widespread profit-taking activities across major counters weighed on investor sentiment.
The Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 2.80% week-on-week to settle at 243,379.63 points, while market capitalisation shed approximately ₦4.41 trillion to close at ₦156.09 trillion, Cowry Asset Management Limited said in a report.
Stockbrokers reported that NGX ‘s year-to-date return moderated to 56.40%, reflecting sustained but cautious investor confidence in the domestic equities market.
Reflecting weak investor sentiment, market breadth remained weak, closing negative at 0.31x, with 21 advancing stocks against 68 decliners.
This reflects a predominantly selective, stock-specific trading environment, in which gains were concentrated in a limited number of counters amid the broader market downturn, Cowry Asset told investors in a report.
Despite the negative price performance, trading activity strengthened significantly during the week. The number of deals, trading volume, and transaction value increased by 42.34%, 65.40%, and 57.55% week-on-week, respectively.
In total, investors traded 3.97 billion shares valued at ₦175.78 billion across 344,073 deals, highlighting strong market participation and active portfolio repositioning.
Sectoral performance was broadly negative, underscoring weak sentiment across most sectors. The Oil and Gas Index led the losers, declining by 5.18%, followed by the Industrial Goods Index, which fell by 4.40%.
Similarly, the Banking, Commodity, Insurance, and Consumer Goods indices recorded losses of 3.44%, 3.28%, 1.89%, and 0.73%, respectively, as profit-taking activities and subdued buying interest pressured performance across these sectors
On the gainers’ chart, INTENEGINS emerged as the top performer with a 60.6% weekly gain, followed by ABBEYBDS (+37.1%), IKEJAHOTEL (+18.9%), CONHALLPLC (+10.7%), and TRIPPLEG (+9.8%).
The strong performance of these stocks was largely driven by renewed buying interest and positive sentiment in selected mid- and large-cap counters.
Conversely, ABCTRANS led the laggards with a 26.9% decline, followed by JOHNHOLT (- 20.7%), CAVERTON (-15.5%), AUSTINLAZ (-14.5%), and TRANSEXPR (-14.3%), reflecting intensified profit-taking and persistent selling pressure. Overall, market performance during the week points to a cautiously optimistic investment environment.
While the broader market experienced a pullback, increased trading activity suggests that investors remain engaged, selectively taking positions in fundamentally attractive stocks while locking in gains from recent market rallies.
Ahead of the new week, Cowry Asset Limited said the equities market is expected to trade cautiously in the near term as investors balance profit-taking with selective bargain hunting in fundamentally strong stocks.
‘While attractive fixed-income yields may continue to divert some funds from equities, sustained interest in quality stocks and positive corporate fundamentals should support market activity.
The investment firm said trading is likely to remain stock-specific, with investor sentiment and economic developments shaping market direction. GCR Affirms MTN Nigeria AAA Ratings, Outlook Stable
