Bearish Sentiment Prevails As Equities Market Declines N1.96trn In 1 Week

The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a negative note, driven by renewed sell-off interest across selected counters amid heightened anticipation of the Dangote Refinery Initial Public Offering (IPO), as the overall capitalization declined by N1.96 trillion.

Consequently, the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 1.60 per cent week-on-week (WoW) to close at 243,052.74 points, while market capitalisation decreased by N1.96 trillion to N157.587 trillion.

Market breadth remained firmly negative during the week, with only nine gainers against 80 losers. The weak breadth reflected subdued investor sentiment, as declining stocks significantly outnumbered advancing counters. Nigerian Exchange Group led the gainers table by 13.85 per cent to close at N148.00, per share.

Ellah Lakes followed with a gain of 13.33 per cent to close at N10.20, while Seplat Energy went up by 10.00 per cent to close to N14,907.80, per share.

On the other side, Fortis Global Insurance led the decliners table by 27.50 per cent to close at N1.45, per share. Critical Minerals Financing Corp followed with a loss of 24.24 per cent to close at N2.00, while Austin Laz & Company declined by 20.40 per cent to close at N1.99, per share.

Meanwhile, a total turnover of 3.647 billion shares worth N130.151 billion in 244,777 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 4.360 billion shares valued at N210.331 billion that exchanged hands previous week in 223,284 deals.

Capital market analysts noted that “the market’s negative performance was largely driven by weak investor sentiment and increased profit-taking ahead of the anticipated Dangote Refinery IPO, as investors appeared to reposition their portfolios in preparation for the offering.

“The resulting sell pressure, particularly across banking and other actively traded counters, weighed on the broader market performance during the week.”

On market outlook, Cowry Assets Management Limited stated that “we expect the Nigerian equities market to remain volatile and cautious in the near term as investors reposition ahead of the Dangote Refinery IPO.

“Continued profit-taking and liquidity rotation may exert further pressure on the market, although the sell-off could present selective buying opportunities in fundamentally strong stocks. Overall, market direction will depend largely on investor response to the IPO, liquidity conditions, and portfolio rebalancing, with a potential recovery once IPO-related pressures ease.”