Weekly Wrap-Up: Market Sheds N697.6bn In Single-Day Rout

Equities on the Nigerian Exchange took a bruising on Friday as relentless sell-off erased N697.6 billion from investors’ portfolios, capping a volatile trading week with a 1.02 per cent decline in the All Share Index (ASI) to 108,053.95 points.

The downturn extended across sectors, with the Consumer Goods index suffering the steepest hit, tumbling 5.01 per cent—a plunge largely driven by a sharp decline in BUA Foods’ stock.

Oil & Gas followed suit with a 2.34 per cent loss, while the Banking, Insurance, and Commodities indices shed 0.75 per cent, 0.15 per cent, and 1.36 per cent, respectively.

The Industrial Goods sector, however, defied the bearish tide, inching up by 0.78 per cent. Despite the market-wide pullback, sentiment remained mixed, with gainers outpacing laggards—38 stocks advanced against 28 decliners.

ROYALEX, UPDC, and TIP led the charge, posting gains of 10.00 per cent, 9.88 per cent, and 9.76 per cent, respectively, while BUAFOODS, DAARCOMM, and ARADEL led the losers, shedding 10.00 per cent, 9.09 per cent, and 6.90 per cent.

Trading activity remained robust, with volumes climbing 12.10 per cent to 478.76 million shares, while turnover soared 51.22 per cent to N13.91 billion, despite a 4.46 per cent drop in total deals.

For the week, investors exchanged 2.414 billion shares worth N55.512 billion across 80,988 deals—significantly lower than the 3.051 billion shares valued at N98.350 billion traded the previous week.

The Financial Services sector dominated activity, accounting for 57.92 per cent of total volume and 43.30 per cent of total value, led by Sterling Financial Holdings, Access Holdings, and Secure Electronic Technology, which collectively traded 455.47 million shares worth N5.27 billion.

Despite Friday’s selloff, the ASI and market capitalization closed the week higher, gaining 2.00 per cent and 2.78 per cent, respectively, as sustained buying earlier in the week mitigated the session’s losses.

However, weakness in banking, consumer goods, and oil & gas stocks weighed on sentiment, signaling a cautious outlook as investors brace for the next trading cycle.