The financial services industry emerged as the dominant force in the Nigerian capital market last week, driving the volume of transactions and accounting for a substantial portion of the equity turnover. With 2.1 billion shares valued at N21.8 billion traded in 14,008 deals, the financial sector contributed a remarkable 69.2% to the total equity turnover.
Following closely behind was the conglomerate industry, which witnessed the trading of 398.6 million shares worth N1.2 billion in 3,129 deals. The services industry secured the third spot with a turnover of 270.1 million shares valued at N1.9 billion in 1,317 deals.
Three prominent equities, namely Fidelity Bank Plc, Access Holdings Plc, and Transnational Corporation Plc, played a significant role in the market activity. These stocks accounted for 1.3 billion shares worth N8.2 billion in 5,286 deals, contributing 43.8% to the total equity turnover.
Despite a slight decline in the overall market performance, investors recorded a total turnover of three billion shares valued at N33.6 billion in 29,505 deals on the Nigerian Stock Exchange. This figure represented a decrease compared to the preceding week’s total turnover of 3.6 billion shares valued at N36.4 billion exchanged in 27,801 deals.
The all-share index and market capitalization experienced a slight dip of 0.1%, closing the week at 52,187.93 and N28.417 trillion, respectively. Top telecommunications player Airtel Africa’s shares saw a 6% loss, impacting the market indices.
While most indices closed higher, several sectors, including NGX Main Board, NGX 30, NGX Oil and Gas, NGX Lotus II, NGX Industrial Goods, and NGX Growth, experienced slight depreciations. Analysts attributed this downturn to weak macroeconomic indicators and global market uncertainties.
Cordros Capital commented on the market outlook, highlighting the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting as a key determinant for fixed-income market yields. They anticipated cautious trading in the short term, emphasizing the importance of investing in fundamentally sound stocks given the current macroeconomic challenges.
Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage maintained a relatively bullish outlook for sectoral performance, except for the telecoms and oil and gas sectors, while Afrinvest anticipated mild gains as investors sought out undervalued and fundamentally strong stocks.
In other market activities, Exchange Traded Products (ETFs) witnessed a total of 2.9 million units valued at N55.7 million traded in 44 deals. Additionally, bonds recorded 126,110 units valued at N130.9 million exchanged in 18 deals.
Throughout the week, 44 equities appreciated, 27 depreciated, and 85 remained unchanged. These figures demonstrated a slightly lower number of appreciating and depreciating stocks compared to the previous week, indicating a mixed market performance.