Nigerian equities wrap up volatile week with investors’ gain of N49.53bn

• Tantalizer, Coronation, Fidelity top in volume trades

Onome Amuge

Investors in the Nigerian equities market experienced a rollercoaster week of trading, with a modest overall gain of N49.53 billion, as the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) inched up from N56.03 trillion  to N56.08 trillion.

The marginal increase comes on the heels of a much larger dip in the previous week, when investors recorded a N539.09 billion loss.

The Nigerian bourse saw a fluctuating performance over the course of the week, with just two of the five trading days resulting in gains.

The All-Share Index (ASI), which measures the performance of listed equities, also mirrored this trend with a slight uptick of 0.09 percent, closing out the week at 97,606.63 points, up from 97,520.54 in the previous week.

The market had kicked off the week on a high note, with investors pocketing  N107.03 billion at the end of the first day’s trading session on Monday, October 7, 2024.

The celebration was short-lived, however, as the market took a dive on Tuesday, October 8, 2024, resulting in a loss of N70.04 billion for investors.

The downward spiral of the Nigerian equities market persisted on Wednesday, October 9, 2024, as investors experienced a  loss of N56.12 billion at the end of the day’s trading session.

The bearish trend continued unabated, with Thursday, October 10, 2024 bringing further despair as investors suffered yet another setback, losing N5.72 billion at the close of trading

After three consecutive days of losses, the Nigerian equities market finally showed signs of recovery on Friday, October 4, 2024, with investors breathing a sigh of relief as they regained N74.38 billion at the close of the trading session.

In contrast to the previous week’s trading activity, which saw a total turnover of 2.872 billion shares valued at N132.811 billion changing hands in 39,867 deals, investors on the Nigerian equities market were more active this time around, with a total turnover of 2.966 billion shares worth N31.508 billion being traded in 42,482 deals.

The Financial Services Industry proved to be the most active sector on the Nigerian equities market, both in terms of volume and value traded.

During the week under review, the industry dominated the activity chart, exchanging 1.485 billion shares valued at N17.965 billion in 19,613 deals. This represented 50.05 percent of the total equity turnover volume and 57.02 percent of the total equity turnover value.

The Services Industry emerged as the second most active sector on the Nigerian equities market.

Over the course of the trading week, the Services Industry saw a  turnover of 1.108 billion shares valued at N775.258 million, transacted in 2,675 deals.

Following  behind was the Agriculture Industry, with a turnover of 93.904 million shares worth N1.250 billion in 2,517 deals.

The top three equities by volume traded on the Nigerian equities market were Tantalizer Plc, Coronation Insurance Plc, and Fidelity Bank Plc, contributing a combined total of 1.625 billion shares worth N3.908 billion in 1,814 deals.

This volume represents  54.80 percent of the total equity turnover volume and 12.40 percent of the total equity turnover value.

Investors flocked to Mecure Industries Plc, driving its share price up by 19.53 percent, making it the standout performer of the week among listed companies.

Not to be outdone, University Press Plc. and Lasaco Assurance Plc also put in commendable performances, with respective share price increases of 17.51 percent and 17.39 percent.

The flip side of the coin saw Tripple Gee and Company Plc suffer the greatest decline in share price percentage, falling 59.56 percent and leading the pack of companies that witnessed significant price erosion.

Daar Communications Plc and Africa Prudential Plc also saw significant declines in their share prices, losing 25.00 percent apiece.