Stock market records second weekly loss, index drops by 0.44%

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) recorded a second consecutive weekly decline at the close of transactions last week as losses in Red Star Express and Betaglas pulled the index by 0.44 per cent.

The All-share index and market capitalisation depreciated by 0.44 per cent to close the week at 49,475.42 points and N26.686 trillion respectively.

All other indices finished lower while the NGX ASeM and NGX Growth indices closed flat. Reacting to market performance, analysts at Cordros Capital said: “We expect alpha-seeking investors to rotate their portfolios towards cyclical stocks that delivered decent earnings during the Q2-22 earnings season amid the yield uptick in the FI market.

“However, we think the absence of a near-term catalyst will likely skew overall market sentiments to the negative side, particularly as the political space gets heated.

“Notwithstanding, we reiterate the need for positioning in only fundamentally sound stocks as the unimpressive macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings.”

Analysts at Vetiva Dealing and Brokerage also said: “Depicting this week’s lackluster sessions, was the average weekly volume of 141 million units, a 25 per cent decline from last week’s 189 million units.

“Given the absence of any major positive catalyst in the market coupled with the current inflationary pressure, we expect a slow start to the week.”

A breakdown of last week’s trading showed that a turnover of 719.4 million shares worth N8.004 billion was recorded in 17,444 deals by investors on the floor of the exchange.

This volume of shares traded was, however, lower than a total of 949.8 million units valued at N9.3 billion that changed hands in 18,525 deals during the preceding week.

On the activity chart, the financial services Industry (measured by volume) led the chart with 411.4 million shares valued at N3.9 billion traded in 9,471 deals, thus, contributing 57.19 per cent to the total equity turnover volume. The ICT Industry followed with 177.8 million shares worth N955.8 million in 1,573 deals.

The third place was the conglomerate industry, with a turnover of 36.577 million shares worth N2.332 billion in 2,425 deals.

Trading in the top three equities namely Courteville Business Solutions Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Access Holdings Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 278.3 million shares worth N1.98 billion in 3,038 deals.

A total of 2,172 units of exchange-traded products (ETP) valued at N352, 773.56 were traded this week in 18 deals compared with a total of 3,952 units valued at N1.7 million was also transacted last week in 32 deals.

Also, a total of 15,945 units of bonds, valued at N16.238 million were traded last week in 15 deals compared with a total of 219,620 units valued at N243 million transacted last week in 30 deals.

Thirteen equities appreciated during the week, lower than 22 equities in the previous week. 39 equities depreciated, higher than 36 in the previous week.