Stock investors book N58bn loss in week ended April 1

Nigeria’s stock investors lost about N58billion in the trading week ended Friday April 1. The review trading week recorded three (3) days of loss sessions as against two (2) days of gains. The market opened April on a negative note (-0.26percent).

With earnings season almost ended, market watchers expect further mixed sessions on the Bourse going into April despite bargain opportunities in cheap but value stocks.

The equities market capitalisation which opened this week at N25.311trillion decreased to N25.253trillion on Friday, April 1.

Read also: Investors gain N33bn as Nigeria stocks rally further

The record negative close to review trading week was largely due to sell-off in banking as evidenced in the sector’s index which decreased most by 7.3 percent, oil & gas (-3.41percent), and consumer goods (-1.84percent).

Prior to this, market activity in March was largely dictated by corporate actions as investors took positions in dividend paying names despite some level of sell-offs in shares of companies with unimpressive earnings reports.

The equities market’s benchmark performance indicator – Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) –All Share Index (ASI) also decreased week-on-week (WoW) from week-open high of 46,964.23 points to 46,842.86 points as at Friday April 1. The record dip pushed market’s positive return year-to-date (YtD) to new low of 9.66percent.