By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions worth N30.379 billion were recorded at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited last week, which had four trading sessions due to the public holiday observed last Wednesday for Eid-el Maulud.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the stock market posted these trades from the sale of 3.911 billion shares in 38,536 deals.
When compared with the preceding week, which had five trading days, the value of transactions weakened by 36.00 per cent, as investors bought and sold 2.933 billion shares valued at N47.449 billion in 44,654 deals.
A breakdown indicated that the financial services industry led the activity chart with 2.774 billion shares valued at N15.241 billion in 16,379 deals, contributing 70.92 per cent and 50.17 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
The energy sector followed with 438.508 million shares worth N5.203 billion in 6,258 deals, while the ICT space was in third place with 294.470 million shares worth N4.447 billion in 3,078 deals.
Further analysis revealed that Universal Insurance Plc, Oando Plc and UBA Plc were the busiest equities in the week, accounting for 2.212 billion units worth N8.907 billion in 7,593 deals, contributing 56.56 per cent and 29.32 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
Last week, 48 equities appreciated in price versus 32 equities in the previous week, 40 shares shed weight versus 53 equities in the earlier week, and 67 stocks closed flat, in contrast to 70 stocks in the previous week.
Sunu Assurances was the best-performing stock as it gained 32.91 per cent to end at N1.05, Ellah Lakes grew by 28.79 per cent to N4.25, eTranzact expanded by 28.57 per cent to N9.45, Chams improved by 19.09 per cent to N1.31, and Abbey Mortgage Bank rose by 17.65 per cent to N2.00.
Conversely, Tantalizers was the worst-performing equity after it dropped 21.05 per cent to sell at 30 Kobo, Guinea Insurance declined by 20.69 per cent to 23 Kobo, McNichols shed 13.33 per cent to settle at 65 Kobo, Unity Bank fell by 11.29 per cent to N1.10, and Secure Electronic Technology depreciated by 10.34 per cent to 26 Kobo.
It was observed that profit-taking dominated the week because were not convinced enough that the new leadership of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) would bring the much-needed positive changes into the foreign exchange (FX) market, with the Naira trading above N1,000/$1 in the unregulated markets.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) and the market capitalisation depreciated by 0.11 per cent each to 67,324.59 points and N36.847 trillion, respectively.
All other indices finished higher except the NGX 30, NGX Premium, NGX AFR Div Yield, Lotus ll, industrial goods, growth and the pension broad, which went down by 0.13 per cent, 3.45 per cent, 1.72 per cent, 0.12 per cent, 4.80 per cent, 0.36 per cent and 0.14 per cent apiece, as the ASeM index remained unchanged.
