Three major indexes – the oil/gas, industrial goods and insurance sectors closed lower at the end of last week’s transactions on the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) for the second consecutive week.

The oil and gas index recorded the highest price loser, shedding 9.86 per cent following heavy sell-offs in Aradel Holdings, Oando and Japaul Gold.

The industrial goods index followed with a loss of 8.21 per cent as investors took profits in Cutix, BUA Cement, Dangote Cement and Premier Paints.

The insurance index also fell by 4.39 per cent due to renewed selling pressure in Regal Insurance, Consolidated Hallmark Holdings and Sovereign Trust Insurance.

On the other hand, the banking index rose by 3.51 per cent, supported by renewed buying interest in GTCO, Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA).

The consumer goods index also gained 2.4 per cent on the back of increased demand for McNichols and Champion Breweries shares.

On the price movement chart, International Energy Insurance emerged as the week’s best-performing stock after gaining 36.5 per cent. It was followed by McNichols with 19.9 per cent, Airtel Africa with 10 per cent, Skyway Aviation Handling Company with 9.9 per cent and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank with 5.3 per cent.

The gains were largely driven by renewed investor interest in selected mid- and small-cap stocks.

However, Trans-Nationwide Express Plc led the decliners with a loss of 23.8 per cent.

Academy Press fell by 17.3 per cent, while Consolidated Hallmark Holdings and Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals each declined by 16.2 per cent. Regal Insurance also shed 15.8 per cent as investors continued to book profits and offload positions in affected stocks.

Consequently, the Nigerian stock market closed the week on a bearish note as the all-Share Index fell by 1.65 per cent week-on-week to close at 232,049.02 points, while market capitalisation declined by about N2.42 trillion to N148.91 trillion.

The market’s year-to-date return moderated to 49.12 per cent.

Market breadth remained negative, with only 19 stocks advancing against 59 that constituted the losers’ chart.

Trading activity also slowed during the week as investors adopted a more cautious approach. The number of deals fell by 13.14 per cent, trading volume dropped by 24.42 per cent, while the value of transactions plunged by 85.58 per cent.