SAT, AUGUST 19 2023-theGBJournal |Despite experiencing a 42 basis points increase in its daily analysis, the Nigerian stock market ended the week on a bearish note, with the NGX All-Share Index (NGXASI) recording a 93-bps week-on-week decline to close at 64,721.09 points.
This bearish performance was primarily fueled by sell-offs seen on Airtel and some tier-1 banking stickers like ZENITHBANK, ACCESSCORP, GTCO, FCMB, and UBA.
Consequently, the overall market capitalization witnessed a notable decline, dropping by N32 billion to attain a closing value of N35.23 trillion, accompanied by substantial year-to-date revenue growth of 26.33%.
Analyzing the comprehensive trade metrics, the total volume traded rose slightly by 9.78%, concluding at 537.58 million units, whereas the total value traded demonstrated a rise of 12.34%, reaching N9.39 billion week-on-week.
Trading in the top three equities namely FBN Holdings Plc, Transnational Corporation Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 576.688 million shares worth N6.911 billion in 3,524 deals, contributing 34.14% and 23.50% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
Meanwhile, sentiments across equities markets globally turned sour this week as US economic resilience raised fears of higher global interest rates.
Additionally, worries about China’s property sector and weak UK retail sales data further dampened sentiments.
As of the time of writing, US equities (DJIA: -2.3%; S&P 500: -2.1%) are set to close lower as strong economic data (retail sales) and minutes of the Fed’s July monetary policy meeting raised fears about interest rates remaining higher for longer.
In a similar vein, European equities (STOXX Europe: -2.2%; FTSE 100: -3.3%) mirrored the cautious global sentiment as investors digested falling UK retail sales ahead of the release of eurozone inflation data.
Equally, Asian markets (Nikkei 225: -3.1%; SSE: -1.8%) logged the biggest weekly loss in five months as investors digested further signs of weakness in China and the prospect of higher US interest rates.
Elsewhere, the Emerging (MSCI EM: -1.3%) and Frontier (MSCI FM: -2.4%) market indices declined consequent upon bearish sentiments in China (-1.8%) and Vietnam (-3.7%), respectively.
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