After experiencing a bullish start to the week, the Nigerian equity market concluded the week in the north zone. However, profit-taking activities observed in prominent stocks led to a decline in the market. The benchmark index closed at 59,000.96 points, representing a decrease of 33 basis points compared to Thursday’s closing of 59,195.21 points.
The decline witnessed in today’s market was attributed to profit-taking activities in several leading stocks. Notably, DANGSUGAR declined by 4.17%, GTCO by 3.92%, STANBIC by 3.70%, ZENITHBANK by 3.28%, and WAPCO by 1.91%. These bellwether stocks contributed to the negative performance of the day.
As a result, the Year to Date (YTD) return experienced a decrease, falling to 15.12%. Additionally, the market capitalization saw a decline of 0.33%, settling at N32.13 trillion. This decrease in market capitalization led to a drop in investor fortune by N105.77 billion.
Market activity decreased as volume and value traded declined by 46.81% and 57.61% to 622.42 million units and N6.51 billion respectively.
Market breadth; investor sentiment decreased to 0.85x from 0.90x in the prior session as 28 stocks appreciated, 33 stocks depreciated while 60 stocks closed flat.
We anticipate a mixed sentiment in the coming week.
Currency Market
The Nigerian Naira demonstrated a notable appreciation of 5.58% against the US Dollar at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window, concluding at a closing rate of N663.04/USD. Meanwhile, the exchange rate at the Central Bank of Nigeria’s (CBN) Secondary Market Intervention Sales (SMIS) window remained steady at N640.00/USD.
