Equity traders on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) opened the week to a sharp downturn as the market erased more than N1.17 trillion in value on Monday, marking another wave of losses after a turbulent performance the previous week.
The steep decline occurred despite the listing of 1.96 billion ordinary shares of Chams Holding through a private placement, indicating that the market’s underlying losses were significantly heavier than the headline figures suggested.
The previous week saw the local bourse shed N1.5 trillion, triggered by widespread divestments following the introduction of a new capital gains tax policy. Although the market briefly attempted a rebound, it was not strong enough to recover the earlier wipeout.
As the new trading week kicked off, investor sentiment remained largely bearish, with widespread profit-taking across key indices dragging performance indicators lower. The plunge deepened the year-to-date moderation in returns.
The All-Share Index slid by 1.26% to settle at 145,159.77 points, driven by sell pressure, while the market capitalisation dipped by N1.172 trillion to close at N92.32 trillion.
Monday’s downturn was amplified by significant selloffs in medium- and large-cap stocks across major sectors, especially within the industrial goods sector, which recorded a steep 4.48% decline. Major contributors to the drop included DANGCEM, TRANSCORP, ACCESSCORP and EUNISELL, even as headline inflation eased to 16.05% in October 2025.
Market activity also contracted heavily, with total trading volume plunging by 92.64% and the value of trades dropping by 26.88%. Investors exchanged roughly 360.60 million units worth N30,892.49 million across 27,975 deals.
TANTALIZER topped the activity chart, representing 14.74% of total market volume. It was trailed by ARADEL (7.85%), GTCO (5.62%), ASOSAVINGS (5.17%), and STERLINGNG (4.00%). ARADEL dominated the value chart with a commanding 69.06% of the total value traded.
On the gainers’ list, SOVRENINS led with a 9.97% uptick, followed closely by NCR (+9.96%), TANTALIZER (+9.81%), PRESTIGE (+9.70%), EUNISELL (+8.52%), and IKEJAHOTEL (+8.33%), alongside 22 other advancing stocks.
Conversely, 24 stocks recorded losses, with DANGCEM and ENAMELWA topping the losers’ chart after shedding 10.00% each. They were followed by TRANSCORP (-4.66%), AIICO (-4.11%), GUINEAINS (-3.97%), and WAPIC (-3.45%).
Despite the market downturn, stockbrokers noted that the breadth closed positive, reflecting 28 gainers against 24 laggards. Sectoral indices mostly closed lower, with industrial goods down 4.48%, oil & gas declining by 1.18%, banking losing 1.01%, and consumer goods slipping slightly by 0.02%. The insurance sector was the sole bright spot, inching up by 0.07%.
 opened the week to a sharp downturn as the market erased more than N1.17 trillion in value on Monday, marking another wave of losses after a turbulent performance the previous week.){kind=link}