Investors lose N20bn as equities market declines by 0.1 per cent WoW

Equities trading at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) closed on the red line last week despite as losses recorded on the last trading day eroded the cumulative gain of the penultimate trading days.

The weekly loss was largely attributable to selloffs in Nestle Nigeria stocks as it declined by 9.1 per cent.
Equities investors lost N20 billion as the market capitalisation closed at N20.57 trillion, compared to the previous week’s N20.59 trillion, which also represented a 0.10 per cent value loss.

The All-Share Index declined marginally by 0.10 per cent Week-on-Week (WoW) to close at 39,483.08 basis points as against the week opening of 39,522.34 basis points.

Consequently, the Month-to-Date (MtD) and Year-to-Date (YTD) return settled at +2.4 per cent and -2.0 per cent, respectively.

Activity level during the week under review was weaker than the prior week, as trading volumes and value declined by 45.9 per cent and 2.4 per cent, respectively.

Specifically, a total turnover of 866.544 million shares worth N12.257 billion in 17,291 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.610 billion shares valued at N12.586 billion that exchanged hands in 18,622 deals in the penultimate week.

The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 445.324 million shares valued at N3.676 billion traded in 7,560 deals; thus contributing 51.39 per cent and 29.99 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 119.649 million shares worth N4.969 billion in 3,424 deals. The third place was ICT, with a turnover of 87.132 million shares worth N1.938 billion in 924 deals.

Honeywell Flour Mill Plc, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc and Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc were the toast of investors during the week under review as they were the top three equities. They accounted for 203.753 million shares worth N1.964 billion in 2,515 deals, contributing 23.51 per cent and 16.02 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Performance across sectors was bearish, except for the NGX Industrial Goods that closed 1.85 per cent, while the NGX Consumer Goods led the decliners after shedding 6.31 per cent, followed by Insurance, Banking, and Energy with 0.96 per cent, 0.82 per cent, and 0.61 per cent respectively.

Despite the negative weekly performance recorded last week, analysts do not rule out immediate recovery.
Analysts at Cordros Capital expect the bulls to regain dominance in the market given the moderation in the prices of bellwether stocks this week amid the declining yields in the fixed income market.

“However, we do not rule out the possibility of continued profit-taking activities. As a result, we think the choppy trading pattern that played out this week will persist in the week ahead. Overall, we advise investors to take positions in only fundamentally justified stocks as the weak macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings,” analysts at Cordros advised.

However, Ambrose Omordion, Chief Research Officer at Investdata Consulting Ltd, expect a mixed market this week as portfolio reshuffling and sector rotation continued in the midst of expected profit-taking from the recent rally.

“Considering that the March accounts and half-year interim dividend qualification dates for most companies are within this month. So there will be activities as investors participate in the interim dividend. So, let us keep our eyes on market breadth and direction,” Omordion said.

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Investors lose N20bn as equities market declines by 0.1 per cent WoW