The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) ended the week on a bearish note, with investors recording a combined loss of ₦370 billion following a sharp decline in market activity and transaction volumes.
Trading on the NGX saw a total of 1.183 billion shares valued at ₦28.87 billion exchanged in 42,397 deals. This marked a steep drop compared to the previous week’s 7.521 billion shares worth ₦398.95 billion traded across 61,312 transactions, indicating a significant downturn in both volume and value.
The sharp decline coincided with a shortened trading week, as the market was open for only three days due to public holidays declared for the Eid el-Fitr celebrations on Monday and Tuesday.
Despite the subdued activity, Fidelity Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, and Universal Insurance Plc led the charts, collectively accounting for over 264.6 million shares worth ₦5.93 billion in 5,714 trades. These three equities alone contributed over 22% of total volume and more than 20% of the market’s traded value for the week.
The financial services sector remained the most active, contributing approximately 76.6% of total trading volume and 65.6% of total value, with 906.6 million shares worth ₦18.93 billion traded in 22,876 transactions. It was followed by the consumer goods sector, which recorded 71.1 million shares valued at ₦2.22 billion, and the services sector, with a turnover of 47.3 million shares worth ₦396.9 million.
The NGX All-Share Index fell slightly by 0.14% to close at 105,511.89 points, while the market capitalization slipped by 0.17%, ending at ₦66.15 trillion.
Sector performance was mixed. While most indices closed lower, a few bucked the trend. Gains were recorded in the NGX CG (+0.13%), NGX Banking (+0.22%), NGX Pension (+0.22%), NGX ASeM (+0.06%), NGX AFR Bank Value (+1.02%), NGX MERI Value (+0.32%), NGX Sovereign Bond (+0.12%), and NGX Pension Broad Index (+0.02%). The NGX Commodity Index remained unchanged.
Market breadth weakened as only 23 equities gained, a decline from the 43 recorded the previous week. In contrast, 51 stocks declined, up from 36, while 73 equities closed flat, slightly higher than the 71 of the prior week.
The week also saw UAC of Nigeria Plc emerge as the biggest loser on the exchange, reflecting broader concerns over corporate governance as NGX reportedly moved to delist 30 companies over regulatory lapses.
As investors recalibrate following the holiday-shortened trading session and ongoing macroeconomic headwinds, attention will be on corporate earnings reports and policy updates in the coming weeks.
