Equities Investors Lose N5.6trn As NGX Indicators Plunge

Equities Investors Lose N5.6trn as NGX Indicators Plunge

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) performance indicators plunged as equities investors lost more than N5.64 trillion in an all-week bearish display in the local bourse.

The depressed buying sentiment knocked N5.64 trillion off the Nigerian stock market capitalisation; the all-share index retreated sharply, and the year-to-date return moderated.

The All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 3.59% week-on-week to close at 235,941.27 points, while market capitalisation declined by approximately ₦5.64 trillion to ₦151.33 trillion.

Consequently, the market’s year-to-date return moderated to 51.62%, reflecting weakening investor confidence in domestic equities. Market breadth remained significantly negative, closing at 0.21x, with only 16 gainers against 78 losers.

This highlights a weak stock-specific trading environment, where losses were widespread across numerous counters amid the broader market downturn, Cowry Asset Management Limited said in its update.

Stockbrokers noted that trading activity in the Nigerian bourse presented a mixed picture during the week.  While trading volume declined by 38.04% week-on-week, the number of deals and transaction value increased by 21.70% and 22.73%, respectively.

In total, investors exchanged 3.08 billion shares valued at ₦254.79 billion across 287,541 deals, indicating selective participation and cautious portfolio repositioning by market participants.

Sectoral performance was broadly negative, underscoring weak market sentiment. The Banking Index recorded the steepest decline, shedding 10.49%, followed by the Insurance Index, which fell by 7.22%.

The Industrial Goods Index declined by 4.11%, while the Commodity, Consumer Goods, and Oil & Gas indices lost 2.20%, 1.61%, and 1.06%, respectively, on a week-on-week basis.

On the gainers’ chart, ROYALEX emerged as the best-performing stock, advancing by 13.3% during the week. It was followed by ENAMELWA (+10.0%), LEARNAFRICA (+10.0%), NEIMETH (+10.0%), and ABCTRANS (+9.9%).

These gains were largely driven by renewed buying interest and positive sentiment in selected mid- and small-cap stocks.

On the flip side, INTENEGINS led the laggards with a 40.4% decline, followed by ABBEYBDS (-18.2%), TRIPPLEG (-17.6%), DEAPCAP (-16.8%), and MAYBAKER (-14.9%), reflecting intensified profit-taking activities and sustained selling pressure.

Cowry Asset Limited said the week’s performance points to a weakened investment environment, characterised by broad-based selloffs, cautious investor positioning, and subdued market sentiment amid persistent profit-taking across key sectors.

“…the Nigerian equities market is expected to remain cautious in the near term as profit-taking activities and weak investor sentiment continue to weigh on performance.

“However, selective bargain hunting in fundamentally sound stocks may provide support, while investors monitor key macroeconomic indicators and corporate earnings for market direction”, the investment firm said. NGX to Introduce Volume-Based Price Rules in Major Market Reform