Nigeria’s equities market decreased by 0.03 percent or N21billion on Monday as investors adopt a wait-and-see attitude towards the equities market.

After record sell off last week, the stock market opened this week slightly red, as the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation decreased from 104,563.34 points and N65.706trillion respectively to 104,529.62 points and N65.685 trillion.

In their view on what shapes the market on Tuesday, research analysts at Vetiva Research said, “Barring the limited changes to the drivers of buy-side action in the market, we expect sentiment to remain mixed in the upcoming session as investors look for fundamentally sound names with attractive price points”.

Read also: Trump’s tariffs spark black Monday as global equities plunge 

Banking stocks were actively traded on Monday, led by Access Holdings, Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank, UBA and GTCO. In 14,583 deals, investors exchanged 428,163,482 shares worth N10.518 trillion.

“Looking forward, the equities market might remain dovish due to elevated interest rate environment in the fixed-income market, we still expect bearish sentiments to linger in the background,” said United Capital research analysts.

“The upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision in May has led some investors to adopt a wait-and-see attitude towards the equities market.

“Concurrently, retail investors are engaging in profit-booking, resulting in selloffs that impede the consistent upward movement of stock prices,” they added.

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Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.

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