Nigeria’s equities market decreased by 2.33 percent or N1.32trillion in the trading week ended Friday July 26. The market recorded four days of negative closes as against a day gain.
It had opened the review week in green but traded negatively for four days as the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) hikes benchmark interest rate.
The Monetary Policy Committee last Tuesday raised the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) to 26.75 percent from 26.25 percent which further makes equities less attractive than fixed income instruments. The Central Bank of Nigeria further ramped up tightening measures to rein in inflation.
Read also: Stock market hits new low as sell-side pressure persists on NGX
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation decreased from preceding Friday’s high of 100,539.40 points and N56.929 trillion respectively to 98,201.49 points and N55.605trillion.
The stock market which saw pockets of demand in select names however closed the week in red as investors also reacted to companies half-year (H1) scorecards.
The market closed the review week in red as investors sold mostly industrial (-5.89 percent) and banking (-2.94 percent) stocks. This was in addition to pockets of profit taking in consumer goods (-0.73 percent), insurance (-0.27 percent) and oil & gas (-0.54percent) stocks.
This month, the market has decreased by 1.85 percent, while this year’s return has moderated to 31.33percent.
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