Investors in the nation’s equity market lost a total of N186bn in the three trading days witnessed last week.
It was a brief trading week as the market opened for three days in observance of the public holidays (Monday and Tuesday) declared by the Federal Government to mark the Eid-El-Kabir.
The equity market extended its downtrend for a second consecutive week, ending the week with a 140 basis points week-on-week loss, taking its year-to-date loss to 14.33 per cent.
The market capitalisation dropped to N13.12tn last week from N13.307tn recorded on Friday of the previous week.
After opening the week with 82bps loss, sell-offs softened on the Nigerian Stock Exchange by Thursday before closing the week with a 47bps decline on Friday.
The consumer goods sector was the worst performing sector last week, following losses in heavyweights such as Nestle Nigeria Plc and Unilever Nigeria Plc.
The banking sector shed the least points amid declines in Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated.
The industrial goods sector also closed in the red last week, held down by losses witnessed in Dangote Cement Plc and Lafarge Africa Plc.
Overall, market sentiment remained weak so far in August, with the All Share Index down by 286bps month-to-date, amid unimpressive macro and global conditions.
For last week, one of the largest losers was Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc while the top gainer was MTN Nigeria Communications Plc.
Analysts at Vetiva Capital Management Limited said in their market review that given investors’ frail interest in the domestic bourse, they expected further declines this week.
The review read in part, “With the market closing in the red on Friday, coupled with a lack of drivers to change the bearish sentiment in the market, we expect further declines in the coming week.
“However, we note release of further banking earning release could direct sentiment.”
The NSE said a total turnover of 726.607 million shares worth N10.459bn in 12,915 deals were traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 1.081 billion shares valued at N12.014bn that exchanged hands the previous week in 16,246 deals.
The financial services industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 554.910 million shares valued at N6.499bn traded in 8,376 deals, thus contributing 76.37 per cent and 62.14 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
The conglomerates industry followed with 76.161 million shares worth N86.854m in 621 deals.
The third place was occupied by the consumer goods industry with a turnover of 29.783 milion shares worth N754.919m in 1,855 deals.
Trading in the top three equities namely, GTB, Zenith Bank Plc and Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc (measured by volume), accounted for 303.101 million shares worth N5.404bn in 2,842 deals, contributing 41.71 per cent and 51.67 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
The top gainers were B.O.C. Gases Plc, Union Diagnostic and Clinical Services Plc, Unity Bank Plc, Livestock Feeds Plc and Transnational Corporation Of Nigeria Plc.
The top five losers were Rak Unity Petroleum Company Plc, UACN Property Development Company Plc, Ecobank, Law Union and Rock Insurance Plc and Stanbic IBTC Holdings.
