Nigerian equities market closed last week on a weaker note—VNL Capital

The Nigerian equities market closed last week on a weaker note, with the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) declining by 2.80% week-on-week to settle at 242,239.11 points.

This reverses the modest 0.27% gain recorded in the previous week as investors engaged in profit-taking across selected large- and mid-cap stocks following the market’s strong rally earlier in the year.

Despite the broad weekly decline, sentiment improved towards the end of the week, with the ASI advancing by 0.48% on Friday. Consequently, the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return moderated to 56.40%, reflecting a slowdown from the over 60% return recorded earlier in the month.

Sectoral performance on Friday was largely positive, marking an improvement from the relatively weak sentiment observed earlier in the week. The Premium Index emerged as the best-performing sector, gaining 1.02%.

Market activity closed the week on a mixed note. Trading volume rose by 3.32%, while the total value of transactions declined by 5.86% on Friday.

This divergence suggests that investors traded a higher number of shares but concentrated activity in relatively lower-priced stocks, reflecting cautious positioning amid ongoing market consolidation and profit-taking
activities..

Nevertheless, the market remains firmly in positive territory, with a YTD return of 56.40% and total market capitalization standing at ₦155.59 trillion. We continue to encourage investors to prioritize fundamentally strong stocks for strategic positioning, while tactical moves are necessary to maximize both upside and market correction.