The Nigerian Exchange Group Insurance Index led the decline during the Sallah holiday-shortened week, falling by 1.32% week-on-week. This contributed to a 0.18% decline in the broader market indices, with the NGX 30 Index and NGX Banking Index also experiencing losses.
“The sell pressure was quite intense in the insurance sector,” said an analyst. Conversely, the NGX Oil and Gas Index rose by 0.35% week-on-week, followed by the NGX Consumer Goods Index, which increased by 0.29%. The NGX Pension Index and NGX Industrial Goods Index also saw gains.
Sell Pressure on The Rise
Jerrymusa.com reports that sell pressure in the declined sectors led to negative price movements in stocks such as VFD Group, AIICO, Insurance, and AXA Mansard, as well as FBN Holdings, Fidelity Bank, Zenith Bank, MTN Nigeria, and Transcorp Hotel.
“Investors were cautious, leading to a decline in market capitalization,” said another analyst. Consequently, the NGX All-Share Index and market capitalization depreciated by 0.18% to close the week at 99,743.05 and N56.424 trillion, respectively.
A total of 3.301 billion shares worth N53.157 billion were traded in 27,536 deals, compared to 2.633 billion shares valued at N43.652 billion in 33,709 deals in the previous week.
Fidelity Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, and Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc were the top three equities traded by volume.
“The market is expected to be mixed in the coming week, with some sectors experiencing buying interest and others experiencing profit-taking,” said an analyst at Cowry Asset Management Ltd.
According to analysts, investors should trade in stocks with sound fundamentals, as trading volume patterns continue to fluctuate.
“The present market outlook suggests buying interest in some sectors and profit-taking in others, amid a wait-and-see attitude,” said the analyst.