Strong Stocks Emerge Amidst NGX Down Market, Hope Of More Earnings Inflow

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The bearish momentum continued on the Nigerian Exchange at the end of the first trading week of March which ended negative amidst selling sentiment and hope of more audited financial statements. Dividend announcements so far made have come below market expectations due to the low yields resulting from the relatively high prices and low payout of companies as revealed by the earnings reports released so far.

Trading for the period opened on a negative note and was sustained till midweek, before the rebound on Thursday that halted the three-day profit taking and selloffs. The reversal was attributed to renewed buying interests after pullbacks, that was extended to Friday’s breadth expansion, despite the benchmark All-Share index closing south. The index ended the week 1.19% down, closing at 106,538.60 basis points, whereas, the market capitalisation lost N467bn at N66.72tr, representing a 0.71% slip. The divergence in both indicators resulted from the listing of Zenith Bank’s additional arising from its recently concluded primary market activity, as well as the listing of additional shares in favour of Ellah Lakes, arising from a debt-to-equity deal.

Year-to-date, the NGX has gained 3.51% in the face of panic selling, among other factors, with the NGX-30 index, the heartbeat of the market chalking a princely 3.46% within the period, coming behind the Banking Index, 4.40%; Pension, 4.80%; and Consumer Goods, 4.42%.

It was not all lush green, as the Insurance and Energy Indexes closed 2.56% and 5.72% red respectively. In terms of market breadth for the week, 30 stocks advanced, while 58 others closed south.

NGXASI Daily Chart

Looking at the above chart, the market is resisting further decline to consolidate ahead of when the fundamentals of more financials are released to the market, even as recent pullbacks created new entry opportunities for discerning investors and smart traders.

Here at Investdata, we always remind market players to do away with preconceived notions about the stock market or any individual stocks, because we have learned from experience that the big winners are usually stocks that have already rallied many times off their lows. Its also, good to buy on reasonably short pullbacks of say 10% to 20% off a stock’s high, but don’t think a stock can’t rise further just because it had a few good months. Also, don’t let your emotions about a stock value get in your way. Instead, focus on using technical and fundamental analysis to trade successfully in any market cycle.

NGXASI Weekly Chart

Watch the simple moving averages to smoothen the fluctuations in the market and a stock’s price. Keeping it simple by studying the price action, volume and moving averages will capture the real picture of the market index and stock’s supply and demand relationship. As the market wait for inflow of funds and more earnings reports to drive this expected money, despite money flow index still high on a weekly chart.

Tantalizer Weekly Chart

Leading the top gainers’ chart is Tantalizers Plc, which rose from N1.90 to N2.59 (+36.32%), UH Real Estate Investment Trust, which climbed from N44.25 to N56.90 (+28.59%), and Livestock Feeds Plc, which increased from N7.43 to N8.35 (+12.38%). Nigerian Exchange Group and Learn Africa Plc both gained 10.00%, rising from N30.00 to N33.00 and N3.30 to N3.63, respectively.

Eterna Weekly Chart

On the decliners chart, Eterna Plc fell from N42.00 to N34.15 (-18.69%), while Transnational Corporation Plc dropped from N57.00 to N46.90 (-17.72%). FCMB Group Plc slipped from N10.60 to N9.10 (-14.15%), Royal Exchange Plc slipped from N0.90 to N0.78 (-13.33%), and Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc decreased from N1.14 to N0.99 (-13.16%).

Trending in the Economy: Nigeria’s foreign exchange reserves fell by $1.31bn in February 2025, dropping from $39.72 billion to $38.42 billion, a 3.3% decline. This outpaces January’s $1.16bn drop, signaling ongoing external pressures.

The decline comes amid the Naira’s appreciation, raising concerns about forex liquidity, debt servicing, and heavy reliance on reserves for imports. Key drivers include CBN interventions, external debt obligations, and oil revenue challenges.

Global Market and Oil: U.S. stocks rose Friday after Fed Chair Jerome Powell said the economy was “in a good place,” but trade uncertainty led to the biggest weekly drop in months. Powell ruled out quick rate cuts and warned about policy risks.

The S&P 500 fell 3.1% for the week, the Nasdaq dropped 3.45%, and the Dow lost 2.37%. Job growth improved, but unemployment ticked up to 4.1%, raising economic concerns.

Hewlett Packard fell 12% on tariff worries, Costco dropped 6% on rising costs, while Broadcom jumped 8.6% on strong AI demand. Trump delayed some tariffs, but trade tensions remain.

Oil prices rose on Friday but retreated after President Trump threatened sanctions on Russia over Ukraine. Brent settled at $70.36, up 1.3%, while WTI closed at $67.04, gaining 1.02%. Prices had surged earlier after Russia confirmed OPEC+ would proceed with an April production increase but might later cut output.

For the week, Brent and WTI fell 3.8% and 3.9%, their biggest drops in months. Prices stabilized after Fed Chair Powell addressed economic concerns. Meanwhile, the U.S. signaled plans to curb Iranian crude exports.

Sectorial Indexes Weekly Charts Below

NGX Banking Index Weekly Chart