The Nigerian Exchange recorded a slight pullback on Wednesday, May 21, as the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 10 basis points to close at 109,619.10 points. This dip was primarily driven by sustained sell pressure on large-cap stocks including Access Holdings (-4.2%), OANDO (-4.8%), and United Bank for Africa (-1.7%). Market capitalisation fell correspondingly to ₦68.9 trillion, translating to a year-to-date return of 6.5%, down from 6.6% on Tuesday.
Trading activity showed mixed dynamics, with the total volume traded rising 33.6% to 664.2 million units, while total value dipped 1.6% to ₦13.0 billion.
Sector Performance: Mixed but Tilted Bearish
Sectoral performance was uneven but leaned negative. The Banking Index suffered the steepest decline at -0.8%, followed by the Oil & Gas (-0.5%) and Industrial Goods (-0.1%) indices, as heavyweights like First Bank Holdings (-1.2%) and WAPCO (-0.9%) also came under pressure. Conversely, the Insurance (+1.1%) and Consumer Goods (+0.5%) sectors saw gains, buoyed by strong performances from MANSARD (+4.8%), Custodian (+2.0%), Nestlé (+8.6%), and Nigerian Breweries (+0.3%).
Market Sentiment Shows Marginal Improvement
Despite the dip in headline indices, investor sentiment marginally improved. The market breadth index rose to 0.01x from -0.03x the previous session, as 30 stocks gained, 29 declined, and 68 closed flat. Top gainers included RT Briscoe (+10.0%), EUNISELL (+9.7%), and Livestock Feeds (+9.6%). On the downside, Champion Breweries and LASACO topped the losers’ chart, both shedding 10%.
Outlook:
Afrinvest analysts remain cautiously optimistic, expecting a rebound in the next session should the improved sentiment persist and no adverse market shocks occur.