The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the final trading week of January on a slightly bearish note, with the All-Share Index declining 0.09% week-on-week, trimming its year-to-date return to 6.27% from 6.36% the previous week
Coronation Asset Management’s Model Equity Portfolio also ended the week in negative territory, falling 0.99%, underperforming the broader market by 0.90 percentage points.
Despite the short-term pullback, the portfolio’s year-to-date return of 10.80% continues to outperform the NGX ASI by a wide margin
Small-Cap Sell-Off Drives Weekly Underperformance
According to the report, the portfolio’s weekly decline was largely driven by profit-taking in smaller-capitalisation stocks, particularly in the pharmaceutical and consumer segments.
• Neimeth Pharmaceuticals plunged 26.04% w/w, emerging as the worst performer in the portfolio.
• May & Baker followed with a sharp 19.54% w/w decline.
• Champion Breweries lost 10.00% w/w, adding to downside pressure.
These losses offset gains recorded in a handful of stocks, including Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO), which advanced 9.09% w/w, AXA Mansard Insurance (+5.93%), and International Breweries (+4.32%)
Banks, Telecoms, and Cement Names Remain Portfolio Anchors
Despite the weekly volatility, the portfolio remains heavily weighted toward systemically important stocks across banking, telecoms, energy, and cement—reflecting a preference for earnings visibility and balance-sheet resilience.
Top weightings include MTN Nigeria, GTCO, Dangote Cement, BUA Cement, Seplat Energy, and Aradel Energy, alongside Tier-1 banks such as Zenith Bank, UBA, and Stanbic IBTC.
Several of these stocks remain flat week-on-week but continue to deliver strong year-to-date returns, reinforcing their role as portfolio stabilisers in choppy market conditions
Portfolio Adjustment: Partial Exit from NCR Nigeria
Coronation disclosed that it sold 5,000 units of NCR Nigeria during the week, following a strong rally that has lifted the stock’s year-to-date return above 75%.
The firm indicated that ongoing earnings releases and valuation reassessments would guide further portfolio rebalancing decisions in the coming weeks
What This Means for Investors
The report underscores a familiar theme in the Nigerian equity market: sharp profit-taking in small-caps after outsized rallies, even as institutional portfolios remain anchored to large, liquid names with defensible earnings.
With corporate earnings season gathering momentum, short-term volatility is likely to persist.
However, Coronation’s continued outperformance versus the NGX ASI year-to-date suggests that disciplined sector allocation and selective profit-taking remain effective strategies in the current market environment.