Nigeria’s Stock Market Down 0.37% Despite 2.98% GDP Growth

By Dipo Olowookere

It was a bad day for Nigeria’s stock market on Friday as it extended its losing streak despite data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealing that the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose by 2.98 per cent in the first quarter of 2024.

It was observed that investors intensified their profit-taking activities during the session, causing the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited to close lower by 0.37 per cent.

Business Post reports that the banking space lost 2.78 per cent, the consumer goods index depreciated by 0.42 per cent, and the insurance sector declined by 0.31 per cent. But the industrial goods counter increased by 0.01 per cent, and the energy sector closed flat.

When trading activities finished for the session, the All-Share Index (ASI) shrank by 365.51 points to 97,612.51 points from 97,978.02 points, and the market capitalisation shed N206 billion to close at N55.218 trillion versus Thursday’s N55.424 trillion.

Yesterday, the trading volume and value went up by 143.00 per cent and 103.90 per cent, respectively, while the number of deals decreased by 3.40 per cent.

A total of 769.1 million shares valued at N15.7 billion exchanged hands in 7,585 deals during the session compared with the 316.5 million shares worth N7.7 billion traded in 7,852 deals in the preceding session.

Investor sentiment was bearish after the bourse ended the last trading session of the week with 16 appreciating equities and 28 depreciating equities, representing a negative market breadth index.

PZ Cussons depreciated by 10.00 per cent to close at N19.80, Ecobank fell by 9.98 per cent to N21.65, FBN Holdings crashed by 9.31 per cent to N20.45, Consolidated Hallmark weakened by 8.70 per cent to N1.26, and International Breweries slumped by 8.52 per cent to N3.65.

On the flip side, International Energy Insurance gained 9.93 per cent to settle at N1.55, Cutix rose by 9.84 per cent to N3.35, Jaiz Bank improved by 8.00 per cent to N2.16, Sovereign Trust Insurance expanded by 7.69 per cent to 42 Kobo, and Japaul increased by 7.47 per cent to N1.87.