- Seplat suffers heaviest decline on 10% fall
Onome Amuge
The Nigerian equities market commenced the week on a cautiously positive note, with the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) registering a modest gain, largely underpinned by renewed investor interest in a select group of large-capitalisation stocks.
The ASI advanced by 0.24 percent, or 273.94 basis points, to close at 112,015.95 points on Monday, June 2, 2025. This upward movement added N172.74 billion to the market capitalisation, which closed the day’s trading at N70.63 trillion, up from N70.46 trillion recorded on Friday, May 30.
However, a deeper analysis of the market dynamics reveals a more underlying fragility. Despite the headline index gain, market breadth remained negative, with 33 declining equities outweighing 23 gainers. This imbalance, analysts observed, indicates that the bullish sentiment was somewhat concentrated, lacking broad-based support across various sectors.
Leading the charge among the top gainers was Multiverse, which saw its share price jump by 9.87 per cent, or N0.75, to close at N8.35 from N7.60. Livestock Feeds also performed strongly, increasing by 9.57 per cent, or N0.90, to settle at N10.30. Other notable advancers included Lasaco, which rose by 8.11 per cent to N2.80, and Neimeth, gaining 8.06 per cent to close at N3.35. Royal Exchange rounded out the top five gainers, with its share value increasing by 7.50 percent to N0.86.
On the flipside, the market’s laggards were led by Seplat, a major player in the oil and gas sector, which saw its share price plunge 10.00 per cent. Other decliners included Legend Internet, whose share price depreciated by N0.61 to N5.55, and NSLTECH, recording a 9.84 per cent decline to N0.55. ETranzact lost N0.65 to close at N6.15, while UPL reported a decline of N0.55, ending the day at N5.35.
From a sectoral perspective, performance was largely positive, albeit with modest gains across most segments. The Banking sector edged up by 0.20 per cent, while the Insurance sector was up 0.85 per cent. The Oil & Gas sector also saw a slight increase of 0.22 per cent, despite Seplat’s significant drop. The Industrial Goods sector posted a gain of 0.43 per cent, and Commodities nudged up by 0.05 per cent. In contrast, the Consumer Goods sector bucked the trend, declining by 0.58 per cent.
Despite the positive movement in the benchmark index, overall market activity was basically muted. Total volume traded\ slumped 73.12 per cent, while value traded declined 84.52 percent. The number of deals also saw a reduction of 9.79 per cent. In total, 517.95 million shares were exchanged by investors in 17,019 deals, valued at N10.07 billion. This marks a sharp decrease from Friday’s figures, which saw 1.90 billion shares worth N64.14 billion traded across 18,653 deals.
The diminished turnover points is attributed to a cautious investor stance, with less aggressive participation despite the index’s upward trajectory.
Looking ahead, market analysts suggest the equities market might experience a mildly positive trajectory, potentially leading to slight gains in the ASI. This outlook is primarily hinged on the expectation that the market could benefit from a spillover effect of excess liquidity within the broader financial system.
However, the narrow market breadth and reduced activity levels on Monday indicated that any major rally would require a broader participation across sectors and increased investor confidence beyond a few large-cap favourites.
