Kayode Tokede
The stock market section of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) commenced the week on a negative note, dropping by N72.5 billion following investors profit-taking in Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) and 41 others.
Specifically, the market capitalization closed trading yesterday at N67.346 trillion, a drop of 0.11 per cent or N72.5 billion from N67.418 trillion it opened for trading.
Consequently, the NGX All-Share Index moved from 108,053.95 basis points to 107,937.74 basis points, a decline of 0.11 per cent as the Month-to-Date performance and Year-to-Date returns settled at 3.3 per cent and +4.9per cent respectively.
THISDAY gathered that 0.71 per cent drop in the stock of GTCO to N63.00 per share and Zenith Bank Plc’s 0.29 per cent to N51.45 per share contributed primarily to the downward movement in the stock market performance yesterday.
Analysing by sectors showed that the NGX Insurance Index dropped by 1.7per cent, NGX Oil & Gas depreciated by 1.1per cent, and NGX Banking declined by 0.4per cent, while the NGX Consumer Goods Index advanced by 1.4per cent and NGX Industrial Goods added 0.1 per cent.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative, as 20 stocks gained relative to 42 losers. Nigerian Breweries emerged the highest price gainer of 10 per cent to close at N36.30, per share. Cadbury Nigeria followed with a gain of 9.97 per cent to close at N32.00, while The Initiates Plc (TIP) rose by 9.88 per cent to close at N4.45, per share.
International Energy Insurance increased by 9.87 per cent to close at N2.45, while Nigerian Enamelware added 9.43 per cent to close at N23.20, per share. On the other side, Ikeja Hotel and Learn Africa led the losers’ chart with 10 per cent each to close at N12.60 and N3.87 respectively, while Cornerstone Insurance followed with a decline of 9.80 per cent to close at N3.13, per share.
UPDC depreciated by 9.79 per cent to close at N3.41, while VFD Group down by 9.66 per cent to close at N52.40, per share.
The total volume traded rose by 6.8 per cent to 511.100 million units, valued at N12.807 billion, and exchanged in 17,095 deals.
Transactions in the shares of Access Holdings led the activity with 143.647 million shares worth N4.031 billion. AIICO Insurance followed with account of 24.614 million shares valued at N42.823 million, while UPDC traded 20.437 million shares valued at N76.679 million.
Fidelity Bank traded 19.894 million shares worth N384.079 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 17.867 million shares worth N688.207 million.
Capital market analysts anticipated that the Nigerian stock market will maintain its positive drive this week, underpinned by strategic positions ahead of full year, 2024 dividend declarations as investors reassess valuation upside in equities with sturdy earnings performances.
The bullish momentum in the stock market persisted for the second trading week in February 2025 as the NGX ASI had surpassed the 108,000 and 109,000 basis points psychological levels, reaching new historic highs.
The strong buying interest was primarily driven by gains in Industrial, Insurance, and Energy & Commodity stocks, which propelled the ASI into positive territory.
The chief operating officer of InvestData Consulting Limited, Mr. Ambrose Omordion said, “all eyes are on the expected full-year audited financial statements and dividend announcements which have continued to guide positioning and money flow into the market.”
He added that, the renewed buying interest in consumer and industrial goods stocks supported the markup phase that is creating new buying opportunities in few stocks ahead of their earnings reports, the January consumer price index figure and the Monetary Policy Committee meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria scheduled for this week.”
Looking ahead, analysts at Cowry Assets Management Limited said, “we anticipate a mixed market sentiment in the coming week as investors await further corporate earnings releases and dividend declarations.
“Additionally, market participants will closely monitor the newly rebased Consumer Price Index (CPI) data and the outcome of the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday. These key events will provide direction for investors as they assess the potential impact on their portfolios. We advise investors to remain vigilant, keeping an eye on stocks with strong fundamentals to make informed investment decisions
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