Bearish week wipes N185bn off investors’ portfolios in equities market
Onome Amuge
The Nigerian equities market endured a rough week, as investors saw their market capitalization shrink by N185.59 billion. This drop in value follows the previous week’s gain of N77.77 billion.
In a similar trend, the market capitalisation decreased from N59.11 trillion to N59.29 trillion, while the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 0.33 percent from 97,830.43 points the previous week to 97,506.87 points at the week’s close.
The market exhibited bearish sentiments for the week, as only 32 equities appreciated in price, compared to 52 in the previous week. On the other hand, 46 equities experienced price depreciation, a marked increase from the 33 observed in the preceding week. Amid this volatility, the market recorded relatively fewer unchanged equities, with 75 equities holding steady, compared to the 68 recorded in the previous week.
The week proved to be a turbulent one for the Nigerian equities market, as it suffered losses in three out of five trading sessions, resulting in a total loss of N185.59 billion.
The week kicked off with a loss on Monday, November 25th, as investors bore the brunt of a N123.74 billion decline. However, the market managed to recover somewhat on Tuesday, November 26th, closing with a profit of N8.25 billion.
Wednesday, November 27th, marked a bleak turn of events as the bears took control of the market, driving investors to suffer a loss of N208.07 billion by the end of the trading session.
Thursday, November 28th saw a reversal of fortunes as investors gained N305.85 billion at the close of trading.
The market, however, failed to maintain this upward momentum, ending on a sour note as Friday, November 29th marked the third day of losses for the week, with investors bidding farewell to N167.88 billion at the end of trading.
Despite a difficult week, investors displayed robust activity on the Nigerian equities market, with 3.19 billion shares worth N54.85 billion exchanging hands in 45,112 deals. This marked a significant increase in volume and value compared to the previous week’s figures of 1.95 billion shares worth N35.86 billion traded across 48,553 deals.
The Financial Service industry led the activity chart, with 1.51 billion shares worth N26.90 billion changing hands across 20,357 deals.
The week witnessed a significant share price increase for Conoil Plc, which surged N17 to close at N276.00, taking the top spot for the highest share price gain. Not far behind, Oando Plc added N4.05 to its share price, growing from N60.90 to N64.95. NASCON Plc also managed to boost its share price by N3.75, adding to the overall positive momentum in the market.
Aradel Plc suffered the biggest decline in share price, shedding N8.80 and leading the pack of losers. Eterna Plc trailed behind, as it cut N4.00 from its share price. Guinness Nigeria Plc added to the negative momentum, knocking N3.00 off its share price.