The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) experienced a significant downturn last week, with the All-Share Index (ASI) dropping 2.51% to close at 141,004.14 points, driven by intense sell pressures across major sectors. This decline reduced the year-to-date return to 36.9% from 40.52%, while market capitalization fell by N2.29 trillion, or 2.51%, to N89.208 trillion, according to NGX data.
Heavyweight industrial stocks bore the brunt, with Dangote Cement declining 9.88%, BUA Cement falling 9.96%, and WAPCO dropping 2.50% week-on-week. The banking sector also faced losses, with Stanbic IBTC plummeting 15.39%, GTCO down 3.79%, Zenith Bank 3.31%, Access Corporation 3.40%, and First Holdco 1.07%. These sell-offs overshadowed gains in consumer goods, where Dangote Sugar rose 7.24%, Unilever Nigeria gained 6.99%, and International Breweries advanced 4.84%. All major sectoral indices, except the Consumer Goods Index (+0.83%), closed in the red, reflecting widespread bearish sentiment.
Trading activity saw 4.773 billion shares worth N107.426 billion exchanged in 152,965 deals, down from 8.564 billion shares valued at N99.936 billion in 177,870 deals the previous week. The Financial Services Industry led with 3.734 billion shares (N60.627 billion, 72,977 deals), contributing 78.24% of turnover volume. Consumer Goods followed with 370.404 million shares (N14.025 billion, 17,997 deals), and Services recorded 176.285 million shares (N1.279 billion, 8,790 deals).
Despite Nigeria’s economic gains, including a 67.12% surge in capital importation to $5.64 billion in Q1 2025 and a 39.98% year-to-date NGX gain, challenges like naira volatility (N1,560/$1 in the parallel market) and 21.88% inflation in July underscore the market’s vulnerability to sustained sell pressures.
