Oil and gas and banking stocks were among the biggest losers on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) during the week ending May 18, 2024.
The NGX Oil/Gas Index, tracking the performance of Conoil, MRS, Eterna Plc, Seplat Energy, and TotalEnergies, fell by 6.49%, closing the week at 1,177.92 points, down from the previous week’s 1,259.69 points.
These oil and gas stocks, including Oando Plc, lost N194.1 billion in market value. Seplat Energy alone shed N193.7 billion, decreasing its market cap from N1.94 trillion to N1.74 trillion. MRS’s proposed delisting had no impact on its stock price, which remained unchanged during the week.
The NGX Banking Index closed at 791.54 points in the banking sector, a 5.31% decline from last week. The United Bank for Africa (UBA) dropped by 17.23%, while Unity Bank and FCMB Group fell by 12.57% and 11.39%, respectively.
Overall Market Highlights
The NGX All-Share Index slightly declined by 0.11%, closing at 98,125.73 points compared to 98,233.76 points last week. Equities lost N54 billion, with the market capitalization ending the week at N55.508 trillion, a 0.10% decline from N55.562 trillion last week. The market year-to-date gain stood at 31.23%, down from 31.37% the previous week.
The market breadth was negative, with 28 stocks recording price gains compared to 40 last week. Conversely, 51 equities saw price losses, up from 37 the previous week. Seventy-six equities showed no price change during the week.
Investors traded 1.652 billion shares worth N42.677 billion in 38,123 deals, down from last week’s 2.187 billion shares valued at N50.667 billion in 45,277 deals.
Top Gainers and Losers
Top gainers for the week included International Energy Insurance (11.49%), McNichols Plc (9.89%), Custodian Investment Plc (9.68%), and Julius Berger Nigeria Plc (9.53%). Airtel Africa led in value gains, with its market cap rising from N7.41 trillion to N8.08 trillion, a gain of 8.97%.
Tantalizers Plc continued its bullish trend from last week, gaining 8.70% to close at N0.50, following its N1.07 billion capital raise announcement on May 7.
PZ Cussons Nigeria topped the chart among the top losers, falling by 22.16% to N21.60. The company’s share price had also declined by 26.97% the previous week. PZ Cussons has seen a dramatic 75.9% drop in May 2024 due to structural changes rather than delisting from the NGX.
Other notable losers included NEM Insurance (18.36%), Eterna Plc (18.32%), and UBA (17.23%). Initiates Plc and Omatek Ventures Plc also saw declines of 15.22% and 14.86%, respectively.
