The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) ended the week of July 17 on a mixed note, with a strong rally in banking stocks cushioning losses in the broader market as industrial counters weighed heavily on performance.
Although the All-Share Index (ASI) slipped 0.14 per cent to close at 243,462.13 points, investors’ wealth increased as market capitalisation rose 0.39 per cent to ₦157.057 trillion.
The increase in market value was largely driven by the supplementary listing of more than 13.8 billion additional shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company during the week.
The week’s trading reflected a market split between sectors, with banking stocks recording the strongest performance, helping offset declines among industrial and consumer goods companies.
Its index surged 9.30 per cent to 2,348.99 points, making it the best-performing sector for the week. The Insurance Index also posted a modest gain of 0.25 per cent to 1,135.86 points.
In contrast, the industrial goods Index recorded the sharpest decline, falling 6.26 per cent to 10,042.21 points, while the consumer goods index slipped 0.15 per cent and the oil and gas index lost 0.11 per cent. The commodity index closed unchanged.
The banking rally was evident in the list of top-performing stocks, with First Holdco emerging as the week’s biggest gainer after its share price jumped 38.66 per cent to ₦95.95. Thomas Wyatt Nigeria followed with a 27.16 per cent gain to ₦3.09, while Fidelity Bank advanced 15.00 per cent to ₦21.85.
Learn Africa appreciated by 14.44 per cent to ₦10.30, while United Bank for Africa gained 10.98 per cent to close at ₦45.50. Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund rose 9.97 per cent to ₦163.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank climbed 9.73 per cent to ₦3.72, and Nigeria Real Estate Investment Trust Fund appreciated 9.71 per cent to ₦113.00.
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Stanbic IBTC Holdings gained 9.66 per cent to ₦166.90, while Abbey Bank completed the top 10 gainers with a 9.29 per cent increase to ₦10.00.
On the losing side, BUA Cement led the decline after shedding 18.99 per cent to close at ₦275.60, highlighting the weakness in the industrial goods segment. Red Star Express followed with an 18.53 per cent loss to ₦20.00, while International Energy Insurance fell 15.27 per cent to ₦4.66.
C & I Leasing declined 13.28 per cent to ₦5.55, PZ Cussons Nigeria dropped 10.06 per cent to ₦80.95, and Eunisell Interlinked lost 10.00 per cent to ₦189.00. Caverton Offshore Support Group shed 9.91 per cent to ₦5.00, CAP Plc fell 9.61 per cent to ₦142.45, while Japaul Gold & Ventures and Cadbury Nigeria each declined 8.95 per cent to ₦2.95 and ₦57.00, respectively.
Despite the mixed price performance, trading activity slowed compared with the previous week. Investors traded 2.819 billion shares, representing a 22.72 per cent decline from the 3.648 billion shares exchanged a week earlier. The value of transactions also fell by 17.26 per cent to ₦182.499 billion from ₦220.568 billion.
The financial services industry remained the engine of market activity, accounting for 71.17 per cent of total trading volume and 54.63 per cent of the total value traded during the week. First Holdco, FCMB Group and Access Holdings were the most actively traded stocks by volume, jointly accounting for 33.33 per cent of total shares exchanged.
In their weekly report, analysts at Cowry Asset Management said, “Looking ahead, we expect the market to trade with a mixed but cautiously optimistic bias, as investors position ahead of corporate earnings releases.
“While profit-taking may persist following the market’s strong year-to-date performance, selective buying in fundamentally sound stocks, particularly within the banking sector, is expected to support market sentiment.”
Alex is a business journalist cum data enthusiast with the Pinnacle Daily. He can be reached via ealex@thepinnacleng.com, @ehime_alex on X