Investors in Nigeria’s stock market experienced a rough week, losing N674bn in just four days of trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited.
This happened as the Federal Government of Nigeria declared Friday and Monday as public holidays to celebrate the Easter season.
The All-Share Index and the market capitalization also suffered a decline of 2.28% during the week, shedding 1238.21 base points and N674bn respectively.
Starting the week at 54,232.34 points, the All-Share Index closed at 52,994.13 points, while the market capitalization started at N29.543tn but closed at N28.869tn.
The NGX Insurance was the only index that appreciated during the week, rising by 2.19%. On the other hand, the NGX ASeM and NGX Growth indices remained flat, while all other indices finished lower.
Investors traded a total turnover of 1.054bn shares worth N10.050bn in 16,155 deals on the floor of the exchange last week, which is a significant decline from the previous week’s total of 2.071bn shares valued at N17.562bn that exchanged hands in 17,917 deals.
The financial services industry led the activity chart by volume, with 630.378 million shares valued at N5.438bn traded in 7,705 deals, contributing 59.83% and 54.11% to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
The conglomerates industry followed with 248.074 million shares worth N394.370 million traded in 812 deals, while the oil and gas industry recorded a turnover of 70.921 million shares worth N1.345bn in 1,452 deals.
Transnational Corporation Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc, and Fidelity Bank Plc were the top three stocks traded by volume, accounting for 498.527 million shares worth N2.118bn in 1,862 deals. This represented 47.32% and 21.07% of the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
The equity market saw 16 gainers, 37 losers, and 103 equities remaining unchanged. Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc recorded the highest gain, rising by 20.99% to close at N9.80, followed by Axa Mansard Insurance Plc, which gained 15.79% to close at N2.20.
CWG Plc recorded a 14.94% gain to end the week’s trading at N1.00. Other gainers include Linkage Assurance, LASACO Assurance Plc, and Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, gaining 11.63%, 9.09%, and 6.25% respectively.
On the flip side, Eterna Oil led the losers, with a 19.12% depreciation in its share value to close at N5.50, while Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc followed with an 18.83% loss in its share value to close at N2.63.
Associated Bus Company Plc lost 16.22%, Royal Exchange Plc lost 15.38%, UAC N Plc lost 10.99%, and Airtel Africa Plc lost 10.00% in its share value per unit to close at N1331.10.
Overall, it was not a great week for investors on the Nigerian Exchange Limited, with the stock market experiencing a significant decline in just four days of trading. Despite the losses, some stocks recorded gains, giving investors hope that the market could turn around in the coming weeks.