The Nigerian Equity Market started the week on a negative note, with investors expressing bearish sentiment towards equities. Consequently, the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (NGXASI) experienced a further decline of 1.10%, reaching 64,337.52 points, compared to its previous session at 65,056.39 points.
The market’s downward performance was mainly driven by profit-taking activities observed in major stocks, after a downward half year performance affected by the unification of the exchange rate. Some prominent stocks, such as Dangote Sugar (-10%), ETI (-10%), Guinness Nigeria (-9.98%), PZ Cussons Nigeria (-9.92%), FirstBank Nigeria Holdings (-2.96%), MTN Nigeria (-3.68%), Access Corporation (-2.86%), and others, faced significant declines.
As a result of this bearish trend, the Year to Date (YTD) return declined to 25.53%. Additionally, the overall market capitalization dropped by 110 basis points, closing at N35.01 trillion. This led to a substantial decrease in investors’ wealth by N391.20 billion.
We anticipate bears to dominate the week, as we see investors pulling out from some stocks with poor half year performance.
Currency Market
The Nigerian Naira appreciated by 2.43% against the US Dollar in the I&E Window, closing at a rate of N756.94/USD.
