Kayode Tokede 

The Nigerian stock  market extended its downward trend last week by N439 billion loss, sustaining the investors profit-taking momentum from the previous week trading activities. 

The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (NGX ASI) declined by 0.50 per cent week-on-week to close at 140,295.50  basis points. Consequently, the Month-till-Date (MtD) and  Year-till-Date(YTD) return moderated to +0.3per cent and +36.3per cent, respectively.

In tandem, market capitalisation dropped by N439 billion to close the week at N88.769 trillion as of August 29,2025. 

From a sectoral performance, there was declines across the NGX Banking Index (-1.2per cent), NGX Insurance index (-1.0per cent), NGX Consumer Goods index (-0.9per cent),NGX  Industrial Goods index (-0.4per cent), and NGX Oil & Gas index (-0.2per cent)  to reflect the overall stock market performance August-end trading activities. 

The bearish trend further dampened investor confidence, as evidenced by the weak market breadth, with only 31 gainers against 57 decliners. McNichols led the gainers table by 18.75 per cent to close at N3.80, per share. NEM Insurance followed with a gain of 17.29 per cent to close at N31.20, while Berger Paints went up by 15.31 per cent to close to N36.90, per share.

On the other side, Secure Electronic Technology led the decliners table by 22.73 per cent to close at 85 kobo, per share. Guinea Insurance followed with a loss of 19.77 per cent to close at N1.42, while Lasaco Assurance declined by 13.29 per cent to close at N3.00, per share.

Overall, a total turnover of 3.199 billion shares worth N85.399 billion in 142,477 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 4.773 billion shares valued at N107.426 billion that exchanged hands previous week in 152,965 deals.

On market outlook for this week, United Capital Plc stated that “equity market could be cautiously optimistic, driven by expectations of a potential interest rate cut from the Central Bank of Nigeria due to moderating inflation, alongside a relatively stable Naira and an increase in foreign reserves.”

Cowry Asset Management Limited noted that “we anticipate a mixed performance in the Nigerian equities market, with cautious sentiment likely to dominate amid tight liquidity and lingering macroeconomic pressures. Sell pressure in the Banking and Industrial Goods sectors may persist, while bargain-hunting in oversold counters, particularly within Consumer Goods and Insurance could drive mild recoveries.

“Overall, the market is expected to trade range-bound with a slight bearish bias, barring any major policy pronouncements or corporate catalysts. However, we continue to advise investors to position in stocks with strong fundamentals.”

In the near term, analysts at Cordros Research added that,  “the absence of clear catalysts is likely to keep sentiment cautious, with selective interest concentrated in fundamentally strong equities.

“Over the medium term, sentiment will likely be shaped by macroeconomic developments — including growth, inflation, and policy direction — as well as movements in fixed income yields, which could further influence asset (re)allocation decisions between equities and debt instruments.”

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