Nigerian stocks closed in the bear territory following profit-taking activities on all trading sessions during the week except Friday when the market staged a +0.4% deadcat bounce.
Precisely, sell pressures on AIRTELAFRI which led to -5.3% loss in its market capitalisation weighed down the market the most as the equity All-Share index (ASI) shed 0.9% to close the week lower at 64,721.09 basis points.
This amounted to N149 billion losses on the part of investors, hence the fall in the aggregate market capitalisation which closed the week at N35.422 trillion. Consequently, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns dipped to +0.6% and +26.3%, respectively.
Meanwhile, performance across sectors was mixed as the Insurance, banking and Oil & Gas indices shed -2.2%, -2.1% and -0.4%) respectively.
On the other hand, the Consumer Goods index advanced by +2.4% and while the Industrial Goods followed suit to close positive with +0.4% index uptick.
Outlook
Investment experts at Cordros Capital hinted dealers in the stock market to expect market performance to stay mixed in the week ahead as investors rebalance their portfolios following an assessment of corporate earnings released thus far for H1-23.
“In the medium term, we expect investors’ sentiments to be influenced by developments in the macroeconomic landscape and the movement of yields in the fixed-income market.
“Overall, we reiterate the need for positioning in only fundamentally sound stocks as the weak macro environment remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings,” the said in note available to BUSINESS METRICS.
Meanwhile, Cowry Assets experts highlighted various factors that will shape the market performance going into the new week.
They said: “The equity market’s trajectory unfolds at the nexus of nuanced factors, encompassing not only bargain hunting and macroeconomic data assimilation but also ministerial portfolio allocation, FX market dynamics propelled by the infusion of a $3 billion cash loan, and the impending earnings releases from prominent tier-1 banks.
“Amidst this tapestry, a feeling of careful optimism rules as market stakeholders navigate the intricate curves to take advantage of evolving opportunities within a dynamic investment landscape.”
Trade Distribution
Trading data for last week obtained from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that activity levels mixed during the week under review as the trading volume declined by 3% week-on-week while the trading value increased by 17.2%.
Specifically, investors traded a total turnover of 1.689 billion shares worth N29.407 billion in 29,477 deals on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.741 billion shares valued at N25.087 billion that exchanged hands the previous week in 30,652 deals.
Measured by volume, the financial services industry led the activity chart with 1.166 billion shares valued at N16.925 billion traded in 13,819 deals; thus contributing 69.04% and 57.55% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The Conglomerates Industry followed with 191.320 million shares worth N843.336 million in 1,829 deals, while the third place was the Oil & Gas Industry, with a turnover of 64.352 million shares worth N810.637 million in 2,159 deals.
Meanwhile, top three stocks with highest traded volumes are FBN Holdings Plc, Transnational Corporation Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc as the trio accounted for 576.688 million shares worth N6.911 billion in 3,524 deals, contributing 34.14% and 23.50% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
