Nigerian equities closed lower for the third straight week, with the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) declining 0.33% to close at 247,539.73 points from 248,363.55 points.
Losses in banking stocks, led by Zenith Bank, GTCO and Fidelity Bank, outweighed gains in oil and gas names such as Aradel Holdings.
Market capitalisation fell by approximately N534.77 billion to N160.73 trillion, bringing the market’s year-to-date return to 59.07%.
Livestock Feeds emerged as the week’s standout performer, surging 44.49% from N13.15 to N19.00. UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust recorded the steepest decline, falling 11.88% to N21.15 from N24.00.
What the data is saying:
Market breadth turned positive despite the index decline, with 50 equities appreciating in price, higher than the 24 recorded the previous week. Thirty equities depreciated, lower than the 54 recorded previously, while 66 equities remained unchanged, down from 68 the week before.
A total turnover of 1.659 billion shares worth N98.088 billion was traded in 184,632 deals, compared with 2.715 billion shares valued at N158.280 billion in 209,986 deals the previous week.
- The Financial Services Industry led activity by volume, with 1.083 billion shares valued at N48.967 billion in 86,994 deals. That contributed 65.31% of total volume and 49.92% of total value.
- The Agriculture Industry followed with 129.650 million shares worth N2.182 billion in 8,650 deals.
- The ICT Industry ranked third with 87.909 million shares worth N6.964 billion in 19,017 deals.
The top three equities by volume, Access Holdings, UBA and Livestock Feeds, accounted for 413.964 million shares worth N12.158 billion in 18,365 deals. That represents 24.96% of total volume and 12.40% of total value.
Sectoral performance:
Sector performance was mixed, with banking dragging on the market while oil and gas led the gainers.
- The NGX Oil/Gas Index recorded the strongest gain among the main sector indices, up 3.13% to 6,194.00 points from 6,005.98 points.
- The NGX Commodity Index rose 2.36% to 1,937.41 points from 1,892.68 points.
- The NGX Consumer Goods Index edged up 0.09% to 4,036.97 points from 4,033.36 points, while the NGX Industrial Goods Index was virtually flat, up 0.004% to 10,442.95 points.
- The NGX Insurance Index slipped 0.14% to 1,079.57 points from 1,081.10 points.
- The NGX Banking Index recorded the steepest sectoral decline, down 3.15% to 2,532.47 points from 2,614.79 points. The NGX AFR Bank Value Index fell 3.80%.
The NGX Corporate Governance Index declined 2.39% to 7,239.74 points from 7,416.72 points.
Year to date, the NGX Oil/Gas Index leads with a 131.96% return, followed by the Industrial Goods Index at 83.97%. The Insurance Index remains negative at -9.23%.
Top 10 Best-Performing Stocks:
- Livestock Feeds Plc: N19.00, up 44.49% from N13.15.
- E-Tranzact International Plc: N17.30, up 42.98% from N12.10.
- Multi-Trex Integrated Foods Plc: N0.60, up 42.86% from N0.42.
- Austin Laz & Company Plc: N2.92, up 32.73% from N2.20.
- Omatek Ventures Plc: N1.60, up 19.40% from N1.34.
- Fortis Global Insurance Plc: N1.90, up 13.10% from N1.68.
- Guinness Nigeria Plc: N423.00, up 9.93% from N384.80.
- Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc: N7.65, up 9.29% from N7.00.
- Aradel Holdings Plc: N1,499.90, up 8.93% from N1,377.00.
- VFD Group Plc: N13.30, up 8.13% from N12.30.
Top 10 worst-performing stocks:
- UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust: N21.15, down 11.88% from N24.00.
- Nigerian Enamelware Plc: N36.65, down 9.95% from N40.70.
- NASCON Allied Industries Plc: N171.00, down 9.48% from N188.90.
- Trans-Nationwide Express Plc: N2.70, down 9.09% from N2.97.
- LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc: N2.93, down 8.44% from N3.20.
- SUNU Assurances Nigeria Plc: N3.00, down 7.69% from N3.25.
- Critical Minerals Financing Corp Plc: N3.31, down 7.54% from N3.58.
- Zenith Bank Plc: N126.00, down 6.46% from N134.70.
- PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc: N64.50, down 5.15% from N68.00.
- Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO): N124.80, down 5.10% from N131.50.
What stands out:
Several of last week’s biggest decliners rebounded. Aradel Holdings, which fell 10% to N1,377.00 the week before, gained 8.93% to N1,499.90, while VFD Group recovered 8.13% after an 8.89% loss.
- Livestock Feeds extended a sharp rally, rising 44.49% after a 47.75% gain the previous week. Over the two weeks, the stock has risen from N8.90 to N19.00, up about 113%.
- E-Tranzact rose 42.98% after a 10.00% gain last week, while Omatek Ventures gained 19.40%.
- UPDC REIT reversed course, falling 11.88% after rising 16.22% the previous week, while Critical Minerals shed a further 7.54% after last week’s 20.27% drop.
- Banking weakness was visible in the decliners, with Zenith Bank down 6.46% and GTCO down 5.10%.
Nairametrics reported that the market had dipped in mid-October even as the broader bull run remained intact, and that Aradel and Oando had lifted the market for a second day on October 15.
Dividend price adjustments:
Three companies had their prices adjusted for dividends during the week, which affected their weekly returns.
- PZ Cussons Nigeria: ex-dividend on October 12, N2.50 dividend, reference price adjusted to N65.50 from N68.00 (3.68%).
- GTCO: ex-dividend on October 13, N1.00 dividend, reference price adjusted to N130.00 from N131.00 (0.76%).
- Stanbic IBTC Holdings: ex-dividend on October 16, N4.50 dividend, reference price adjusted to N163.50 from N168.00 (2.68%).
PZ Cussons’ 5.15% decline and GTCO’s 5.10% decline include these adjustments, which reflect dividend entitlements being removed from the share price and do not necessarily indicate selling pressure.
Corporate actions:
The trading symbol of UH Real Estate Investment Trust changed from UHOMEREIT to UHREIT.
What you should know:
The ASI fell for a third straight week, with weekly losses of 0.52%, 0.97% and 0.33%, though the latest decline was the smallest.
- The ASI closed within a narrow band of 247,513.63 to 247,736.24 points during the week.
- Market capitalisation was N160.73 trillion on Friday, down about N108.70 billion from Thursday.
- Positive breadth, with 50 gainers against 30 decliners, shows that the index fall was driven by large-cap banking names rather than broad selling.
- Turnover value fell about 38% from the previous week to N98.088 billion.
Looking ahead, “we expect market sentiment to improve, supported by (1) bargain hunting following recent price declines, (2) anticipation of Q3 earnings releases and (3) positioning ahead of upcoming dividend qualification dates, which could drive selective buying interest,” analysts at Cordros Securities Limited stated in their Weekly Economic and Market Report.