After N2.83trn Loss, Analysts See Stock Market Staying Cautious This Week

Nigerian stock market analysts stated that this week’s trading sessions may remain tentative, with investors prioritising profit‑taking and strategic capital reallocation to align portfolios with fiscal‑year targets.

The market capitalisation of listed equities declined by N2.83 trillion to N94.998 trillion last week as the market extended its bearish momentum with profit-taking sentiments dominating trading amid a combination of domestic and external headwinds.

Looking ahead, Cowry Asset Management Limited stated that, “the market is likely to remain cautious as investors continue profit-taking and reallocate capital in line with fiscal-year considerations.

“Although near-term volatility may persist, the impressive YTD gains suggest that underlying fundamentals remain relatively strong. Market direction in the coming weeks will likely be influenced by macroeconomic indicators, particularly inflation, exchange rate stability, corporate earnings updates, and liquidity flows from both local and foreign investors. However, investors are expected to maintain a selective approach, tilting toward fundamentally sound and defensive stocks capable of weathering short-term market swings.”

Afrinvest Limited said, “This week, we expect the market dynamics to remain bearish, driven by weak investor sentiment across major bellwethers.”

Trading opened in November with a bearish onslaught, as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 2.99 per cent week-on-week to close at 149,524.81 points, reflecting sustained selling pressure as investors adjusted portfolios in response to geopolitical tensions surrounding the US-Nigeria diplomatic faceoff, year-end portfolio rebalancing, and expectations of window-dressing activities by institutional players.
Similarly, the market capitalisation of listed equities declined by N2.83 trillion to N94.998 trillion.

Market breadth remained heavily skewed to the bears, with 20 gainers against 75 losers, indicating widespread sell pressure across sectors. NCR Nigeria led the gainers table by 20.94 per cent to close at N19.35 per share. Eunisell Interlinked followed with a gain of 20.17 per cent to close at N70.90, while Union Dicon Salt went up by 9.93 per cent to close at N7.75 per share.

On the other side, Sovereign Trust Insurance led the decliners table by 28.21 per cent to close at N2.80 per share. C&I Leasing followed with a loss of 20.16 per cent to close at N5.03, while Skyway Aviation Handling Company declined by 18.99 per cent to close at N80.60 per share.

Overall, a total of 3.575 billion shares worth N107.011 billion in 146,429 deals were traded by investors on the Exchange’s floor last week, compared to a total of 7.479 billion shares valued at N145.429 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 159,487 deals.

The Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 2.946 billion shares valued at N65.904 billion traded in 62,817 deals; contributing 82.39 per cent and 61.59 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively. The Services Industry followed with 147.325 million shares worth N1.511 billion in 7,656 deals, while the Consumer Goods Industry traded a turnover of 147.307 million shares worth N11.195 billion in 18,644 deals.