The Nigerian Exchange Limited closed the trading week on a distinctly bearish note, driven by broad-based sell-offs across major industry sectors.

The benchmark Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index dropped by 1.60 per cent to settle at 243,052.74 points, down from its opening level of 246,992.44 points at the start of the week.

Concurrently, market capitalisation contracted by 1.24 per cent to finish at N157.587tn. Despite this week’s pullback, the market continues to maintain a remarkable year-to-date performance, remaining up by 56.19 per cent overall.

Overall market sentiment turned heavily negative, as evidenced by a total of eighty equities depreciating against a slim nine equities that managed to record price appreciation, while fifty-eight stocks closed the week unchanged.

Macroeconomic factors fuel market profit-taking

The weekly contraction on the Exchange reflects broader economic dynamics as institutional investors rebalance portfolios following extended bull runs across tier-1 equities.

The Services Industry followed behind, generating 153.122m shares worth N2.331bn, while the Consumer Goods Industry occupied third place with 116.656m shares worth N11.035bn.

Activity was heavily concentrated among the top three individual stocks traded during the session. Fortis Global Insurance Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, and Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc led the volume chart, collectively accounting for 1.544bn shares valued at N4.067bn in 3,017 deals.

The Insurance Index experienced the largest sectoral drop, falling 5.52 per cent. However, a few specialised indices bucked the market trend and posted positive gains.

The Oil and Gas Index advanced by 2.83 per cent, while the Commodity Index gained 2.19 per cent. Modest positive movements were also recorded in the MERI Value Index, the AFR Dividend Yield Index, and the Sovereign Bond Index.

Among individual stock performances, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc emerged as the top gainer for the week, surging 13.85 per cent to close at N148.00 per share after opening at N130.00. Ellah Lakes Plc also gained ground, rising 13.33 per cent to end at N10.20, while energy major Seplat Energy Plc posted a 10.00 per cent gain to finish at N14,907.80 per share.

Conversely, Fortis Global Insurance Plc registered the largest drop of the week, declining by 27.50 per cent to close at N1.45 per share. Critical Minerals Financing Corp Plc followed closely behind with a 24.24 per cent reduction in value to end at N2.00 per share.

Alternative assets and corporate listings

In alternative trading segments, Exchange Traded Products recorded a transaction volume of 2.259 million units valued at N451.246m across 5,627 deals. This represented an increase from the previous week’s record of 2.102 million units worth N425.921m.

Meanwhile, the Fixed Income segment saw 115,145 bond units valued at N123.330m traded in 50 deals, down from the 295,465 units valued at N293.761m recorded the previous week.