The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) witnessed a significant downturn on Tuesday as selloffs in large-cap stocks wiped off approximately N596 billion from investors’ wealth.
Market capitalisation dropped by 0.67% to close at about N87.81 trillion, while the All-Share Index fell to 138,780.55 points. Year-to-date gains moderated to 34.83%. Heavy losses in Lafarge Africa (-9.9%), Transcorp (-4.3%), Dangote Sugar (-5.2%), and GTCO (-1.7%) drove the bearish session. Cadbury Nigeria also faced sell pressure.
Trading activity slowed as total volumes declined by 0.1% to 407.57 million units, valued at N39.87 billion across 31,406 deals. GTCO was the most traded stock by volume (32.61 million units), while Seplat Energy led in value terms with N28.45 billion.
Sector performance reflected widespread weakness, with Insurance (-2.2%), Industrial Goods (-1.5%), Consumer Goods (-1.4%), and Banking (-0.6%) all closing in the red. Oil & Gas was the only gainer, posting a marginal 0.1% rise on buying interest in Oando (+1.04%).
Market sentiment remained broadly negative, with 46 losers compared to just 11 gainers. Wema Bank, AIICO, and Prestige Assurance all fell by 10% each, while NCR and Austin Laz posted the day’s maximum gains at 10%.
Analysts attributed the slump to weak investor confidence and persistent volatility across key sectors.
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