The Nigerian equity market began the week on a bearish note, reversing its recent upward momentum with a market capitalization loss of N63 billion. By the close of trading on Monday, the market capitalization had dropped from N59.53 trillion to N59.47 trillion, accompanied by a 0.11% decline in the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI), which fell by 103.23 points to 98,107.52.
Trading Activity
A total of 436 million shares exchanged hands across 9,489 deals, with a market value of N12.86 billion. This marked a significant decline compared to the previous trading day, with trading volume down by 58%, turnover falling by 26%, but the number of deals improving by 31%.
Gainers and Losers
Out of the 126 listed equities that participated in the trading session, 19 recorded gains while 36 saw declines. Leading the gainers was the Nigerian Exchange Group, which surged by 10%, closing at N27.50 per share. Other top gainers included Golden Guinea Breweries, Tantaliser, and Africa Prudential, with gains of 10%, 9.92%, and 9.72%, respectively.
On the losing end, Secure Electronic Technology suffered the steepest decline, falling 10% to close at N0.63. Guinea Insurance followed with an 8.93% loss, closing at N0.51, while Deap Capital Management & Trust dropped 8.4% to N1.09. Daar Communications also recorded a 7.02% drop, ending the day at N0.53 per share.
Sector and Index Performance
The Oil & Gas Index saw a modest 0.44% increase, continuing its strong year-to-date (YTD) performance with a gain of 140.41%. Meanwhile, the Top 30 Index slipped by 0.05% but maintained a YTD gain of 32.9%. The Banking and Pension Indices also reflected positive trends, with YTD increases of 15.4% and 33.53%, respectively. In contrast, indices like the Main Board and Consumer Goods saw slight declines.
Market Dynamics
FCMB Group led trading volume with 61.7 million shares traded, followed by Access Holdings with 51.1 million shares, United Bank for Africa at 27.2 million shares, and Guarantee Trust Holding with 24.5 million shares.
The mixed performance across indices and trading metrics underscores the market’s volatility, despite a YTD ASI growth of 31.21% and a 0.75% gain over the last four weeks.
Outlook
The reversal in gains signals cautious investor sentiment as market participants react to macroeconomic factors and sector-specific developments. Analysts will closely monitor market dynamics in the coming weeks, particularly the performance of key indices and sectors like Oil & Gas, which continues to drive strong YTD growth.
