Trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) floor recorded a notable sell-off in the first week of September as investors were more willing to sell their shares at lower prices, which led them to suffer an ₦832.3 billion loss.
Pinnacle Daily review of market performance in the just concluded week shows the total market capitalisation dipped to ₦87.94 trillion at the close of trading on Thursday, September 4 from ₦88.77 trillion it opened on Monday, September 1.
Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) declined from 140,284.90 points on Monday to close at 138,980.01 points on Thursday.
Trading activity opened for four days during the week as the Federal Government declared Friday, September 5, a public holiday to mark Eid-el Maulud celebration.
Industrial goods bore the brunt
Of the six sectoral indices tracked, the five closed in the red with the industrial goods index bearing the brunt of the sell pressure.
The index slipped by 2.08 per cent week-on-week to close at 4,871.08 points as middle to large capitalised stocks came under sustained pressure.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Stock Market Sees Significant Gains Despite Volatility
The banking index followed with a 1.52 per cent decline to 1,505.37 points, reflecting cautious investor positioning in financial stocks amid tight system liquidity and elevated funding costs.
Other indices, including consumer goods, oil and gas, and insurance indices, also declined by 1.18 per cent, 0.77 per cent, and 0.36 per cent to 3,152.93 points, 2,363.12 points, and 1,279.00 points, respectively. This underscores the broad-based nature of the NGX downturn in the review week.
The 0.04 per cent marginal uptick in the commodity index to 1,067.29 points was insufficient to offset the wider bearish sentiment.
Sovereign Trust Insurance, Secure Electronic Technology, and Cornerstone Insurance were top gainers while DAAR Communications, UACN Property Development Company (UPDC), and AIICO Insurance were top losers.
Market saw a 3-day losing streak
On Monday, the Nigerian stock market began the week on a bearish note as weak market sentiment saw investors lose ₦362.75 billion and drop the total market capitalisation to ₦88.41 trillion.
READ ALSO: NIIRA 2025: Insurance Stocks Lead NGX N344Bn Gain in August
Negative sentiment continued to trail the market as investors lost ₦622.95 billion at the close of Tuesday’s trading with the total market capitalisation dropping to ₦87.78 trillion.
On Wednesday, the market capitalisation further dipped to ₦87.42 trillion, after investors lost ₦394.45 billion in the day’s trading.
Reverting to a positive sentiment on Thursday, the stock market traded up with ₦520.71 billion gain to investors, leaving the total market capitalisation to close the week at ₦87.94 trillion.
Trade deals, volume drop
A look at NGX market data for the week shows that while traded volumes and deals declined, the value of traded stocks increased.
A total turnover of 3.117 billion shares worth ₦90.295 billion in 118,018 deals was traded by investors, relative to 3.199 billion shares valued at ₦85.399 billion that exchanged hands in 142,477 deals last week.
Measured by volume, the financial services industry led the activity chart with 2.542 billion shares valued at ₦30.357 billion traded in 52,390 deals. It contributed 81.55 per cent and 33.62 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
READ ALSO: Banking Rally Fuels Nigerian Stocks to 7-Week High
The services industry followed with 114.610 million shares worth ₦816.381 million in 6,098 deals.
Meanwhile, Sovereign Trust Insurance, Access Holdings, and Fidelity Bank were the top traded stocks, accounting for 1.685 billion shares worth ₦9.813 billion in 9,367 deals and contributed 54.05 per cent and 10.87 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
Cautious optimism remains high
Analysts expect the stock market in September to remain characterised by cautious optimism, shaped by both domestic and external factors.
On the domestic front, the anticipated release of the August consumer price index (CPI) figures will be keenly watched, as inflation dynamics continue to weigh heavily on monetary policy expectations and fixed-income yields, analysts at Cowry Asset Management said.
“Portfolio rotation and bargain hunting are likely to remain the key themes, with investors selectively buying into undervalued names following recent corrections,” they added.
3 insurance stocks face suspension
During the review week, NGX suspended the trading of the shares of Regency Alliance Insurance, International Energy Insurance, and Universal Insurance for failing to file their audited financial statements for the year ended December 21, 2024.
“In accordance with the Default Filing Rules set forth above, the suspension of trading in the shares of the above-mentioned companies shall be lifted upon the submission of the outstanding financial statements,” NGX stated.
It also notified the investing public of the lifting of suspension placed on trading in the shares of Universal Insurance, following the company’s filing of its audited financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2024 and outstanding unaudited financial statements for 2025.
What to expect in coming week
“In the coming week, we expect the Nigerian equities market to trade cautiously, with sentiment likely to remain weak amid persistent macroeconomic headwinds such as currency pressures, inflation expectations, and uncertainty around monetary policy direction.
“While bargain-hunting in oversold stocks could trigger mild recoveries in select counters, overall market performance is expected to stay broadly bearish, with investor appetite for risk assets still subdued,” Cowry research analysts said.
They explained that the sharp contrast between the few stocks that outperformed amid other numerous stocks highlights persistent investor caution, as negative sentiment continues to dominate sectoral flows.
“We continue to advise investors to take positions in stocks with strong fundamentals,” the analysts added.
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X
