Stock Market Falls N366 bn Week-on-Week as Investors Take Profits

Kayode Tokede

The market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) fell by N366 billion week‑on‑week (WoW) as investors took profits, notably after a 3.5 per cent decline in BUA Cement Plc.

NGX’s All‑Share Index (ASI) slipped 0.25 per cent WoW to close at 249,712.37 basis points. The month‑to‑date return moderated to +3 per cent and the year‑to‑date return to +60.4 per cent, reflecting a more cautious, risk‑averse sentiment across the domestic bourse.

Market capitalisation dropped to N160.077 trillion.

Market breadth weakened further, closing negative with 43 gainers versus 53 decliners, indicating limited and highly selective buying interest.

Associated Bus Company led the gainers, up 44.82 per cent to N9.08 per share. Academy Press followed, gaining 29.79 per cent to N9.15 per share, while University Press rose 28.00 per cent to N6.40 per share.

On the decline side, Sovereign Trust Insurance led with a 22.45 per cent drop to N2.28 per share. Trans‑Nationwide Express fell 18.98 per cent to N5.72 per share, and CAP declined 14.85 per cent to N199.00 per share.

Last week, investors traded a total of 3.875 billion shares worth N161.757 billion in 334,745 deals on the Exchange floor, compared with 7.772 billion shares valued at N374.040 billion in 402,945 deals the previous week.

The financial services sector led activity, with 2.410 billion shares worth N69.712 billion traded in 126,919 deals, accounting for 62.19 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and 43.10 per cent of the total value.

The services industry followed with 409.306 million shares worth N5.409 billion in 25,908 deals, while the oil & gas sector traded 294.859 million shares worth N31.496 billion in 26,738 deals.

Trading in the top three equities—Sterling Financial Holdings Company, Fidelity Bank and Access Holdings—accounted for 1.092 billion shares worth N19.527 billion in 21,683 deals, contributing 28.18 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and 12.07 per cent of the total value.

Capital market analysts expect trading on the Nigerian equities market to remain relatively muted this week, citing a lack of a major positive catalyst to drive a broad rebound.

The market closed last week on a subdued note, extending its bearish momentum as widespread losses in heavyweight names dragged overall performance.

For this week, Cordros Securities Limited said, “we expect market activity to remain relatively subdued in the near term in the absence of a major positive catalyst to drive sentiment. Nonetheless, we do not rule out selective bargain hunting across fundamentally sound names following the recent moderation in prices.”

Looking ahead, Cowry Assets Management Limited stated that “the Nigerian equities market is expected to remain mixed and cautious in the near term, as weak sentiment and profit‑taking continue to weigh on performance. Elevated fixed‑income yields and macroeconomic uncertainties may limit broad‑based gains, though selective buying could persist in fundamentally strong stocks, particularly in the banking and oil & gas sectors. Overall, trading activity is likely to remain stock‑specific with continued short‑term volatility.”