At the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), equities trading ended in September bearish as investors in Nigeria’s equities market recorded a N91 billion decline in the value of their investments as the market dropped by 0.25 per cent following sessions of profit-taking after the August rally.
The market, which started September with All-Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation at 66,548.99 points and N36.422 trillion, respectively, dropped to 66,382.14 points and N36.331 trillion as of Friday, September 29, the last trading day of the month.
The negative close in September came despite expectations of investors positioning in value stocks ahead of qualification for their half-year (H1) interim dividend.
In the month under review, more investors were mostly cautious of the nation’s macroeconomic outlook, particularly fluctuations in the foreign exchange (FX) market, which directly affect foreign stock investments.
Last week, it was another negative outing for the local equities market as the All-Share Index declined by 1.40 per cent week on week to 66,382.14 basis points just as sell-off activities and profit-taking in some of the blue-chip companies continued.
In tandem with the ASI, the total market capitalization of listed equities experienced a decline of 1.40 per cent week-on-week, descending to N36.33 trillion as the year-to-date return of the All-Share Index (ASI) eased to 29.52 per cent.
The sectoral performance was in the mix-bargain as the see-saw movement continued across tickers. The Insurance and consumer goods sectors were the best-performing indices as they garnered gains by 2.77 per cent and 1.59 per cent week on week. On the flip side, the Banking, Industrial goods, Oil and Gas sectors accordingly posted weekly losses by 4.17 per cent, 3.04 per cent and 1.24 per cent, as investors dumped securities across these indices.
Trading activity throughout the week remained characterized by waning sentiments, as evidenced by the weekly tally of deals which decelerated by 27.67 per cent week-on-week to 27,874 deals.
Moreover, the average traded volume witnessed a weekly decrease of 65.76 per cent, settling at 1.34 billion units while the weekly average value declined by 41.03 per cent week on week, and reaching a value of N17.92 billion.
At the close of the week, Sunu Assurance, Daar Communications and Eterna Oil were the major toast of investors amid the cherry-picking activities as their share prices advanced by +19 per cent, +19 per cent and +15 per cent respectively while the laggards for the week were Oando, Tantalizer and Chams whose prices nosedived by -19 per cent, -14 per cent and -10 per cent week on week.
It is not yet Uhuru for the Nigerian capital market as analyst projects a persistent negative trend. In the upcoming week, Cowry Assets in it’s Weekly Financial Markets Review & Outlook anticipated the bearish sentiment to continue as the market seek catalyst and policy pronouncements to trigger the bullish sentiment.
“However, as we drive into the final quarter for the year and the reporting season draws closer, investors will begin to rebalance their portfolio in their search for alpha in preparation for the quarter-ending reporting season. Meanwhile, we continue to advise investors on taking positions in stocks with sound fundamentals,” analysts said.
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