Nigerian equities fall 0.05% as profit-taking across large-cap stocks persist

The Nigerian equities market fell 0.05% on Monday, July 27, extending the previous session’s losses as investors engaged in profit-taking after last week’s gains across several sectors and stocks.

The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) declined marginally by 0.05% to close at 247,238.74 points, down from 247,357.40 points in the previous session.

Market capitalisation fell to N159.51 trillion from N159.59 trillion, erasing approximately N76.56 billion in investor wealth, while the market’s year-to-date return moderated slightly to 58.88%.

While buying interest persisted in selected counters, valuation-driven portfolio rebalancing across banking, insurance, consumer goods and other large-cap stocks weighed on overall market performance.

Driving the numbers:

Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Fund (CNIF) topped the gainers’ chart, while Sunu Assurances and Transcorp Power both led the decliners, trading below their 52-week lows at N3.24 and N219.60 respectively.

• Transcorp Power led the retreat, shedding its maximum 10% to close at N219.60 from N244.
• Fidson Healthcare fell 9% to N91.00.
• NEM Insurance dropped 8.52% to N29
• Access Holdings declined by 7.53% to N27.
• Oando fell 4.25% to N38.30.
• BUA Cement declined by 2.47% to N316.
• NAHCO shed 2.12% to N166.40.
• CWG dropped 1.68% to N20.45.
• Cadbury Nigeria eased 1.11% to N66.75.
• Nigerian Breweries slipped 0.90% to N77.30.
• TIP declined 0.31%, while Stanbic IBTC Holdings was roughly flat, down 0.03%.

The market’s decline reflected broad-based profit-taking, particularly in stocks that had recorded strong gains in recent weeks. Market breadth weakened, with 32 decliners outnumbering 28 advancers, underscoring the session’s broad-based profit-taking.

Top gainers and losers:

On the gainers’ table, CNIF advanced +9.95% to close at N140.30 from N 127.60, followed by Thomas Wyatt Nigeria (+9.92% to N3.99), Lasaco Assurance (+9.89% to N2.00), Consolidated Hallmark Insurance (+9.18% to N3.45), and Chams (+7.78% to N4.85).

On the losers’ side, Sunu Assurances shed its maximum 10% to close at N3.24, just as Transcorp Power also hit its 10% decline limit, falling to N219.60.

International Breweries declined 9.85% to N12.35; Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals fell 9.78% to N8.30; and Austin Laz & Company dropped 9.64% to N3.28.

Sector performance:

Sectoral performance was broadly negative.

• The Insurance Index led the decline, down 1.69% to close at 1,159.86 points.
• Consumer Goods followed with -1.07% to 4,460.42 points.
• Commodity: -0.87% to 1,743.68 points.
• Oil & Gas: -0.14% to 5,247.63 points.
• Industrial: -0.06% to 10,539.21 points.
• The Banking Index was the lone gainer, rising 0.78% to close at 2,565.04 points.

Volume and value contribution:

Market activity strengthened during the session despite the index’s decline.

• Total volume traded advanced 3.81% to 637.96 million shares, valued at N57.20 billion across 71,240 deals, a 73.60% rise in value and a 28.87% increase in deal count from the previous session.
• Access Holdings recorded the highest volume, with 47.57 million units traded, accounting for 7.46% of the day’s total volume.
• Aradel Holdings recorded the highest value at N27.57 billion, representing 48.20% of the day’s total value traded.
• FCMB and First HoldCo accounted for 6.32% and 5.36% of total volume respectively, while First HoldCo and Zenith Bank followed Aradel Holdings in traded value.

What you should know:

Monday’s pullback follows Friday’s decline, marking a second consecutive session of losses after the market’s strong run through much of last week.

• Transcorp Power’s 10% decline after recent gains stood out as the session’s most notable casualty.
• However, the session’s weakness appears concentrated in Insurance, Consumer Goods, and Commodity names, with Banking the only sector to close in positive territory.
• Overall trading activity strengthened considerably in both value and deal count, suggesting the pullback was driven more by selective repositioning than a broad exit from the market.

Looking ahead, the market is tilting toward a possible rebound given today’s marginal decline, though continued profit-taking in recently appreciated counters could temper the pace of any recovery in the sessions ahead.