The reduced activity came as the market operated for only three trading days, with the Federal Government declaring Monday and Tuesday public holidays to commemorate the 2025 Eid el-Fitr celebration. Market performance reflected this limited window, with the NGX All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation declining by 0.14% and 0.17% respectively to close at 105,511.89 points and N66.147 trillion.
Financial sector stocks dominated trading activity, accounting for 76.6% of total volume with 906.590 million shares worth N18.926 billion changing hands in 22,876 deals. Fidelity Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and Universal Insurance Plc emerged as the most actively traded stocks, jointly representing 22.36% of total turnover volume and 20.55% of value with 264.627 million shares worth N5.932 billion traded in 5,714 transactions.
The consumer goods sector followed distantly with 71.059 million shares worth N2.224 billion traded in 3,394 deals, while the services sector recorded 47.305 million shares valued at N396.897 million. Market breadth turned negative as 51 stocks declined against 23 gainers, a reversal from the previous week's 43 advancers against 36 decliners.
VFD Group led the gainers' chart with an impressive 20.76% appreciation, followed by Union Dicon Salt (19.59%) and Africa Prudential (15.71%). On the flip side, UAC of Nigeria topped the losers' table with a N6.50 decline, while Oando and Sunu Assurance followed with losses of N6.35 and 89 kobo respectively.
Notably, several sectoral indices bucked the general market trend. The NGX Banking Index gained 0.22%, mirroring the 0.22% advance in the NGX Pension Index, while the NGX Commodity Index closed flat. Market analysts attribute the mixed performance to portfolio rebalancing ahead of anticipated first-quarter earnings reports and the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee meeting.
As investors look ahead to a full trading week, market watchers suggest the current valuations may present buying opportunities in fundamentally sound stocks, particularly in the banking sector which has shown relative resilience. However, the broader market sentiment remains cautious as participants weigh macroeconomic headwinds against corporate earnings prospects in the coming weeks.