•As August turns out 0.3% gain
By Peter Egwuatu
Profit taking has continued to trail the stock market but the investors gained Month-on-Month, MoM, in August 2025 by 0.3% following the positive sentiments that sustained the market for most part of the month.
Financial Vanguard MoM analysis shows that the Nigerian Exchange Limited, All Share Index, ASI, a major performance indicator of the market, closed at 140,295.50 points at the end of trading on Friday, August 29, 2025 from N139,863.52 points it opened in the first trading day of the month under review.
However, the Year-to-Date,YtD, return moderated at 36.3%.
In the same manner, another market gauge, market capitalisation, which represents the total value of equities listed on the NGX, gained N345 billion to close at 88.769 trillion from N88.425 trillion in July 2025.
Meanwhile, analysis for the weekly performance shows that the bears continued to dominate in the Nigerian stock market as selloffs in Zenith Bank, which nosedived by
-5.7%, followed by WAPCO dropping by -3.4%, GTCO -2.1%, and ETI -6.8% caused a 0.5% Week on Week, W/W decline in the NGX ASI to close at 140,284.90 points.
On market activity, trading volume and value declined by 33.0% W/W and 20.5% W/W, respectively. From a sectoral standpoint, there were declines across the sectors
The Banking Index, which dropped by -1.2%, Insurance Index -1.0%, Consumer Goods Index -0.9% , Industrial Goods Index, -0.4%, and Oil & Gas Index -0.2% affected the overall market performance of the market.
Reacting on the development, analysts at Cordros Capital stated: “ In the near term, the absence of clear catalysts is likely to keep sentiment cautious, with selective interest concentrated in fundamentally strong equities. Over the medium term, sentiment will likely be shaped by macroeconomic developments, including growth, inflation, and policy direction as well as movements in fixed income yields, which could further influence asset (re)allocation decisions between equities and debt instruments”
For analysts at InvestData Consulting Limited, they stated in their outlook that: “The market continues to grapple with profit-taking pressure, particularly in large-cap and blue-chip stocks, amid weak sentiment and reduced buying interest. The improving volume suggests active rotation among counters, but the dominance of sellers points to near-term caution.
“Looking ahead: Interim dividend season and corporate earnings remain key catalysts. Oil price volatility and global risk sentiment will continue to influence investor appetite in emerging markets like Nigeria”.
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