Nigerian Bourse Ends Week in Negative Territory
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) concluded the trading week on a downward trend, recording significant declines in both trading volume and value compared to the previous week. Market data revealed that investors traded a total of 3.575 billion shares worth N107.011 billion across 146,429 deals during the week ended Friday, November 7.
This performance marked a substantial decrease from the previous week's activity, where 7.479 billion shares valued at N145.429 billion were exchanged in 159,487 deals. The decline reflected weakening investor sentiment across the trading floor.
Sectoral Performance and Trading Highlights
The Financial Services sector dominated market activity, accounting for 82.39% of total equity turnover volume and 61.59% of total value. Specifically, the sector recorded 2.946 billion shares worth N65.904 billion exchanged in 62,817 deals.
Following distantly were the Services sector with 147.325 million shares valued at N1.511 billion in 7,656 deals, and the Consumer Goods sector which recorded 147.307 million shares worth N11.195 billion traded in 18,644 deals.
Fidelity Bank Plc, FCMB Group Plc, and Aso Savings & Loans Plc emerged as the most actively traded equities by volume. Together, these three stocks accounted for 1.288 billion shares worth N19.300 billion in 11,536 deals, contributing 36.03% to total equity turnover volume and 18.08% to total value.
Market Sentiment and Price Movements
Market sentiment closed decidedly negative during the week, with only 20 equities appreciating in price compared to 29 in the previous week. Meanwhile, the number of declining stocks increased to 75 equities from 70 recorded last week, while 51 stocks remained unchanged compared to 47 previously.
Among the top gainers were NCR (Nigeria) Plc which led with a 20.94% increase, followed by Eunisell Interlinked Plc (+20.17%) and Union Dicon Salt Plc (+9.93%). Other notable gainers included Honeywell Flour Mill Plc, UPDC Plc, and Livestock Feeds Plc.
On the losing side, Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc topped the decliners with a significant 28.21% drop. Other major losers included C & I Leasing Plc (-20.16%), Skyway Aviation Handling Company Plc (-18.99%), and Berger Paints Plc (-17.41%). International Energy Insurance Plc and Oando Plc also featured among the top ten decliners.
Naira Performance and External Factors
Separate market reports indicated that the Nigerian naira closed the week N15 weaker against the US dollar, depreciating from N1,421.73 to N1,436.58 at the official window. This mild retreat was attributed to increased dollar demand and investor anxiety following geopolitical developments.
The currency movement occurred amid reports of heightened foreign exchange pressure and external market uncertainties affecting investor confidence in Nigerian assets.
