Kayode Tokede
The domestic stock market closed lower last week, as sell pressures on Aradel Holdings, First Holdco, Nestle Nigeria and Fidelity Bank depreciated the market capitalisation by N1.58 trillion to close the week at N161.26 trillion.
Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index lowered by 0.97 per cent week-on-week to close at 248,363.55 basis points to move to market’s year-to-date (YTD) return moderated to 59.60 per cent.
The Nigerian stock market sentiment was weak, as market breadth closed negative with 54 decliners against 23 advancers. Tripple Gee & Company followed with a gain of 32.62 per cent to close at N3.09, while Guinea Insurance went up by 29.17 per cent to close to 93 kobo, per share.
On the other side, Critical Minerals Financing Corp (CMFC) led the decliners table by 20.27 per cent to close at N3.58, per share. ABC Transport followed with a loss of 18.24 per cent to close at N6.05, while Japaul Gold & Ventures declined by 11.11 per cent to close at N2.56, per share.
Overall, a total turnover of 2.715 billion shares worth N158.280 billion in 209,986 deals was traded last week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 3.166 billion shares valued at N155.023 billion that exchanged hands previous week in 206,662 deals.
The Financial Services Industry led the activity chart with 2.005 billion shares valued at N82.924 billion traded in 94,483 deals, contributing 73.84 per cent and 52.39 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
The Consumer Goods Industry followed with 152.345 million shares worth N11.425 billion in 20,926 deals, while the ICT Industry pulled a turnover of 117.296 million shares worth N15.256 billion in 22,556 deals.
Trading in the top equities, Access Holdings, Zenith Bank and United Bank for Africa (UBA), accounted for 1.020 billion shares worth N50.520 billion in 29,382 deals, contributing 37.56 per cent and 31.92 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
However, the anticipation of third quarter (Q3) 2026 earnings releases is likely to support selective interest in stocks with positive earnings prospects on the Exchange.
Analysts expected the earnings season to provide fresh direction for investors after a week of cautious trading and profit-taking.
On market outlook, Cordros Securities Limited said, “we expect buying interest to recover modestly in the near term, driven by bargain hunting following the week’s bearish performance. At the same time, the anticipation of Q3 earnings releases is likely to support selective interest in counters with positive earnings prospects.”
Also, Imperial Asset Managers Limited noted that “investors may remain selective following the modest rebound on Friday and contraction in turnover. Sustained recovery would require stronger breadth and broader participation.”
It added that attention is likely to shift toward third-quarter earnings and company specific disclosures; investors should monitor earnings quality, sector rotation and turnover.