The Nigerian equity market suffered a setback in a holiday-shortened trading week, shedding N207bn in market capitalisation as investor sentiment remained mixed amid ongoing earnings releases and dividend declarations.
Trading on the Nigerian Exchange Limited was limited to four days as the Federal Government declared Friday, April 18, and Monday, April 21, 2025, as public holidays to mark the Easter celebration.
As a result, the benchmark All-Share Index declined by 0.32 per cent to close at 104,233.81 points, while market capitalisation dropped from N65.706tn in the previous week to N65.499tn, representing a loss of N207bn.
The weekly report released by the NGX showed that investors traded a total of 1.525 billion shares worth N43.006bn in 51,156 deals. This represented a decline from the previous week’s 2.094 billion shares valued at N52.967bn in 64,612 deals, reflecting a slowdown in market activity due to the shortened trading period.
Sectoral performance showed the financial services industry maintained its dominance, leading the activity chart with 1.122 billion shares valued at N24.015bn traded in 28,818 deals. This accounted for 73.56 per cent and 55.84 per cent of the total equity turnover volume and value, respectively.
The ICT sector followed with 101.252 million shares worth N4.819bn in 2,541 deals, while the services industry recorded a turnover of 99.776 million shares worth N1.230bn in 3,063 deals.
Access Holdings Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, and Universal Insurance Plc were the most traded equities during the week by volume, accounting for a combined 448.105 million shares valued at N6.730bn in 6,481 deals. Their contribution represented 29.39 per cent of the total volume and 15.65 per cent of the total market value.
Market breadth was relatively positive, with 31 equities appreciating, higher than 27 recorded in the previous week. 44 equities recorded price declines, lower than the 56 that lost value the prior week, while 72 equities closed flat, compared to 64 in the previous week.
In the Exchange Traded Products segment, investors traded a total of 19,814 units valued at N3.572m in 62 deals, a significant decline from 111,693 units valued at N6.115m in 83 deals recorded the previous week.
In the fixed income segment, the bond market also witnessed a decline in turnover, with 81,759 units worth N84.283m traded in 27 deals, compared to 144,487 units valued at N151.615m transacted in 100 deals the previous week.
Despite the broader market decline, some sectoral indices posted gains. The Premium Index rose by 0.57 per cent, Pension gained 0.42 per cent, MERI Growth advanced by 2.67 per cent, Consumer Goods increased by 2.33 per cent, Oil & Gas was up 0.20 per cent, Lotus II rose 0.16 per cent, Growth added 0.26 per cent, Sovereign Bond advanced 0.39 per cent, and Pension Broad appreciated by 0.55 per cent. Meanwhile, the ASeM and Commodity indices closed flat.
Meanwhile, trading commenced on Wema Bank Plc’s rights issue of 14.29 billion ordinary shares of 50 kobo each at N10.45 per share. The offer, based on two new ordinary shares for every three held as at the close of business on Wednesday, 5 March 2025, opened on Monday, 14 April 2025.