Nigeria’s stock market witnessed a significant increase in trading activity last week, with investors exchanging shares worth ₦154.39 billion despite a 1.21 per cent decline in the benchmark equity index as profit-taking continued across major stocks.
Weekly market data released by the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that investors traded a total of 3.821 billion shares valued at ₦154.39 billion in 258,567 deals during the review period. This represents a notable improvement from the previous week’s performance, when 2.324 billion shares worth ₦134.49 billion were traded in 249,328 deals.
Although trading volume and value increased substantially, the broader market closed on a weaker note. The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 1.21 per cent to settle at 229,240.34 points, while total market capitalisation also fell by 1.21 per cent to close at ₦147.103 trillion.
The decline was largely attributed to sustained profit-taking by investors following recent gains in the equities market, reflecting cautious market sentiment despite heightened trading activity.
Across the various market segments, sectoral performance remained predominantly negative. Most of the NGX sector indices ended the week in the red, with the NGX Main Board Index standing out as the only major gainer after posting a 2.27 per cent increase.
The Financial Services sector continued to dominate market activity, accounting for the largest share of transactions recorded during the week. Investors traded 2.330 billion shares valued at ₦54.61 billion across 108,978 deals within the sector, representing 60.99 per cent of the total volume of equities traded and 35.37 per cent of the market’s total trading value.
The Services sector ranked second in terms of activity, recording transactions involving 509.473 million shares worth ₦16.35 billion in 16,527 deals. It was followed by the Consumer Goods sector, where investors exchanged 216.344 million shares valued at ₦8.06 billion through 25,963 deals.
Trading by volume was led by Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc, Access Holdings Plc, and Ikeja Hotel Plc. Together, the three companies accounted for 1.405 billion shares worth ₦28.37 billion traded in 12,898 deals. Their combined transactions represented 36.78 per cent of the total shares traded during the week and 18.37 per cent of the market’s total trading value.
Market breadth remained unchanged from the previous week, indicating a cautious but balanced trading environment. A total of 22 listed companies recorded gains in their share prices, matching the figure recorded a week earlier. Similarly, 57 equities closed lower, while 67 stocks finished the week unchanged, maintaining the same levels recorded in the preceding trading week.
Market analysts noted that the sharp increase in trading volume and value, despite the decline in the benchmark index, reflects active portfolio repositioning by investors. They observed that market participants continued to concentrate investments in banking stocks and other fundamentally strong companies as they position ahead of corporate earnings releases and respond to prevailing macroeconomic conditions.
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