The Nigerian stock market began the new trading week on a downward trend, with equities investors suffering a loss of over N658 billion due to widespread selloffs across key sector indices on Monday. This follows a weak market showing from the previous week, which had already dampened investor sentiment.
The benchmark index of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the All-Share Index, took a significant hit, dropping by 1.23%—a decline of 1,295.02 basis points—to end the session at 104,216.87 points.
Market capitalisation also witnessed a major contraction, decreasing by N658.23 billion, or 1.00%, to close at N65.49 trillion. Analysts attributed the mixed movement in market indicators to the listing of a rights issue by First Holdco Plc, which involved the addition of 5,982,548,799 ordinary shares priced at N25.00 each, offered on a 1-for-6 basis.
Stockbroking firms indicated that overall investor confidence remained fragile, as selling pressure in large-cap stocks across critical sectors dragged the overall index downward.
Despite the negative price action, trading activity showed improvement. The total volume and value of shares traded on the Exchange rose by 27.52% and 37.48%, respectively. A report from Atlass Portfolios Limited revealed that approximately 444.11 million shares worth N11.15 billion exchanged hands in 15,690 deals.
In terms of volume, FCMB led the pack, accounting for 14.76% of total shares traded, trailed by FIDELITYBK (9.59%), GTCO (7.77%), ACCESSCORP (7.17%), and ZENITHBANK (7.14%).
GTCO stood out as the day’s most actively traded stock by value, responsible for 20.94% of the day’s total turnover. Meanwhile, VFDGROUP topped the list of gainers with a 10.00% rise in its share price.
Other notable gainers included TOTAL (+9.61%), GUINEAINS (+9.52%), INTENEGINS (+9.33%), ABBEYBDS (+8.88%), and FTNCOCOA (+6.25%), among others.
However, the overall market breadth was largely negative. Fifty stocks posted losses, compared to only eight gainers. OANDO, NSLTECH, CORNERST, and RTBRISCOE all declined by 10.00%, ranking among the worst performers of the session.
Additional laggards included HONYFLOUR (-9.98%), MANSARD (-9.61%), AFRIPRUD (-9.60%), FIDELITYBK (-9.52%), and UBA (-7.60%).
On a sectoral level, the entire market closed in the red. The insurance sector led the slide, dropping by 7.56%, followed by banking (-5.48%), consumer goods (-0.79%), oil and gas (-0.65%), and industrials (-0.01%).
Overall, the equities market capitalisation plunged by N658.23 billion, bringing the total market value to N65.49 trillion, reflecting sustained bearish sentiment among investor.
