Bearish Sentiment Persists: Investors Lose N112 Billion on NGX

A somber week for Nigerian investors continued as sustained bearish trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Thursday resulted in a loss of N112 billion.

This marked the fourth consecutive day of declines following a N242 billion hit on Monday and a N126 billion loss on Tuesday. Wednesday provided no respite due to a public holiday.

The primary catalyst behind this downturn was the market’s reaction to the Senate’s confirmation of Yemi Cardoso as the governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, which added to the prevailing downbeat sentiment.

By the close of trading on Thursday, the NGX All-Share Index had dipped by 0.31% to settle at 66,448.63 points, while market capitalization stood at N36.367 trillion.

The bearish trend also led to subdued market activity with total deals decreasing by 2.74% to 6,826 trades. Trading volume and value depreciated by 24.78% and 24.67%, respectively, with 273.80 million units exchanged for N3.41 billion.

Among the top value losers were Vitafoam (-9.92%), FTNCocoa (-9.88%), Oando (-9.84%), John Holt (-9.39%), and United Capital (-7.20%).

In contrast, the insurance sector emerged as the biggest winner, posting a 0.83% increase, while the banking and consumer goods sectors recorded losses of 1.01% and 0.68%, respectively.

Accesscorp led in trading volume on Thursday, with 45.87 million units valued at N710.63 million, followed by Zenith Bank with 21.12 million units worth N657.22 million. Unity Bank, United Bank for Africa, and Transcorp also featured among the top five traded stocks.

The persistent bearish sentiment highlights the need for investors to closely monitor the evolving market dynamics and economic policies, as uncertainty continues to cloud the Nigerian financial landscape.