NGX opens week lower as profit-taking deepens

Nigeria’s equities market extended its bearish run on Monday as renewed profit-taking pressure dragged the NGX All-Share Index down 0.11 per cent, pushing the benchmark to 239,085.17 basis points.

The decline further weakened the market’s year-to-date performance to 53.64 per cent and wiped N137.12 billion off investors’ wealth, leaving total market capitalisation at N154.36 trillion.

Market breadth remained firmly negative, with 32 stocks recording losses against 18 gainers, translating to a breadth ratio of 0.56x and signalling continued weakness in investor sentiment.

International Energy Insurance led the decliners, followed by Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals, Fidelity Bank, Guinea Insurance and NPF Microfinance Bank, which recorded some of the session’s biggest losses.

On the gainers’ side, Red Star Express, Okomu Oil, UPDC, HMCALL and SUNU Assurances recorded notable advances, although the gains were insufficient to offset the broader market sell-off.

The weakness was concentrated in key sectors. The Banking Index fell 0.63 per cent, while the Insurance Index declined 0.53 per cent. The Consumer Goods Index also slipped marginally by 0.01 per cent.

In contrast, the Oil & Gas, Industrial and Commodity sectors closed relatively flat, providing little support for the broader market.

Trading activity presented a mixed picture, with investors exchanging 668.72 million shares in 45,894 deals. Volume and deal count increased by 60.49 per cent and 26.35 per cent respectively.

However, the increase in trading activity did not translate into higher market value, as turnover fell sharply by 33.13 per cent to N23.83 billion.

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The divergence between rising volume and falling turnover suggests that activity was concentrated more heavily in lower-priced stocks, even as investors continued to adjust their portfolios amid the prevailing market weakness.

The latest decline comes as the equities market struggles to sustain the strong rally recorded earlier in the year. After delivering gains of more than 50 per cent year-to-date, investors have increasingly turned to profit-taking, particularly as valuations and gains accumulated in several counters come under reassessment.

Analysts expect the bearish sentiment to persist in the near term as investors lock in gains and reposition their portfolios.

However, the market could still find support from residual optimism, particularly if investors begin rotating funds into stocks with stronger fundamentals and attractive valuations.