Nigerian equities market closed the week with cumulative N1.97 trillion losses in market capitalization to close at N157.587 trillion, down 1.24% from N159.558 trillion while the benchmark All Share Index fell 1.6% week-on-week to close at 243,052.74 points from 246,992.44 points
Heavy selling pressure in insurance, banking and industrial names ahead of the Dangote Refinery IPO opening on Monday, September 14, dragged the benchmark Index down to its weekly low of 242,223.10 points on Wednesday, Sept. 9 before a modest recovery on Thursday and Friday.
NGX Group Plc and Seplat Energy Plc defied the weak sentiment, extending their rally to close as the week’s best-performing stocks. Ellah Lakes also posted double-digit gains, lifting the broader market from earlier N3.5 trillion losses recorded between Tuesday and Wednesday.
NGX Group led the gainers’ chart with a 13.85% week-on-week gain to N148.00, while Ellah Lakes climbed 13.33% and Seplat Energy advanced 10.00% to a fresh high of N14,907.80, providing pockets of strength in an otherwise weak week.
Despite the weekly decline, the market’s year-to-date return remained strong at 56.19%, though market breadth was heavily negative.
Market breadth was sharply negative for the week, with only nine equities appreciating against 80 that depreciated, a marked deterioration from the previous week’s 56 gainers against 35 losers.
Fifty-eight equities remained unchanged during the week, higher than the 56 recorded previously.
All-Share Index: 243,052.74 points, down -1.60% week-on-week from 246,992.44 points.
Sectoral performance was broadly negative during the week, as heavy selling in insurance, banking and industrial stocks outweighed renewed buying interest in oil & gas and commodity names.
In contrast, the Oil & Gas Index bucked the broader downturn, advancing +2.83% to 5,817.36 points, supported by gains in Seplat Energy which more than offset losses in Japaul Gold, Oando, and Aradel. The Commodity Index also gained +2.19% to close at 1,888.79 points.
Seven of the top 10 decliners lost at least 17% during the week, with Fortis Global Insurance recording the steepest fall at 27.50% in a week that saw just a total of nine gainers and 80 decliners.
Two corporate listings were added to the Exchange during the week:
Looking ahead, market sentiment in the coming week is likely to remain dominated by the Dangote Refinery IPO subscription window, which opens September 14, alongside continued positioning ahead of Nigeria’s reclassification to Frontier Market status by FTSE Russell, effective from September 21.
