SAT, OCT 21 2023-theGBJournal| During the final trading session of the week, the local stock exchange experienced another day of decline, with the NGX All-Share Index (NGXASI) dropping by 27 basis points compared to the previous day and a 42 basis point decrease compared to the previous week, ultimately settling at 66,382.14 points.
This negative performance was primarily attributed to consistent selloffs observed in GEREGU (-7.22%), DANGSUGAR (-2.31%), and FLOURMILLS (-9.03%). Consequently, the market breadth concluded on a negative note at 0.68, indicating 19 decliners for every 13 advancers.
Trade volumes also decreased by 31.07% to 205.89 million units, while trade value saw an expansion of 42.32% to N6.38 billion. FIDELITYBK led the volume chart, trading 28.13 million units (constituting 13.66% of the market volume), while GEREGU topped the value chart with deals worth N3.20 billion (accounting for 50.10% of the total value traded).
The year-to-date (YTD) return for the All-Share Index declined to 30.56%, and the market capitalization dropped by N156.34 billion week-on-week (WoW), settling at N36.76 trillion.
Throughout the week, losses in STANBIC (-13.06%), GEREGU (-7.22%), MTNN (-0.20%), NESTLE (-0.49%), and NB (-9.52%) highlighted the market’s overall weak performance, overshadowing gains seen on banking stickers UBA (+8.26%), ZENITHBANK (+3.28%), and GTCO (+2.31%).
We anticipate the potential for upward momentum in the upcoming week, as stocks appear appealing for purchase.
Meanwhile, Global stocks plummeted this week due to concerns about the potential escalation of the Israel-Hamas conflict in the Middle East. In addition, hawkish comments from the Federal Reserve Chairman on the possibility of further interest rate hikes and weak corporate earnings contributed to the risk-off sentiments.
Accordingly, negative sentiments dominated trading in the US (DJIA: -0.8%; S&P 500: -1.2%) as investors reacted to (1) a surge in the 10-year Treasury yield, (2) mixed corporate earnings reports, and (3) hawkish remarks from the Federal Reserve Chairman.
Similarly, European equities (STOXX Europe: -2.1%; FTSE 100: -1.3%) were on course to close lower due to disappointing corporate earnings, rising concerns related to the Middle East conflict and interest rate uncertainty.
Equally, Asian markets (Nikkei 225: -3.3%; SSE: -3.5%) followed the negative trend on Wall Street amid lingering concerns about China’s property sector. In other regions, Emerging (MSCI EM: -2.2%) and Frontier (MSCI FM: -2.9%) market indices posted bearish performance due to losses in China (-3.5%) and Vietnam (-5.5%), respectively.
Twitter(X)-@theGBJournal|Facebook-the Government and Business Journal|email:gbj@govbusinessjournal.com| govandbusinessj@gmail.com
