The Nigerian equities market closed Thursday’s session in the red as investor portfolios on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) declined by approximately N292 billion, driven by significant sell-offs in Wema Bank, Oando, and several other tickers.
Weak sentiment dominated throughout the day, pulling major performance indicators lower by 0.32%. The All-Share Index dipped by 458.98 points to settle at 144,187.03, while the overall market capitalisation fell to ₦91.71 trillion after shedding ₦291.93 billion in value.
The downtrend was primarily influenced by price declines in WEMABANK, TANTALIZER, OANDO, IKEJAHOTEL, MAYBAKER, and others. Several block transactions were also executed off-market, adding to the quiet mood across the bourse.
Activity levels fell sharply, as trading volume slumped 60.87% to 349.29 million units, while turnover value dropped 60.51% to ₦9.30 billion. The number of executed deals also shrank by 7.28% to 18,753. Analysts noted that the decline largely reflected a slowdown in institutional trading activity, with retail investors also maintaining a cautious stance amid heightened risk aversion.
FIDELITYBK led the volume chart, contributing 15.73% of total market turnover. It was followed by FCMB (8.80%), TANTALIZER (8.62%), GTCO (7.44%), and ACCESSCORP (5.20%).
GTCO dominated the value chart, accounting for 23.27% of the day’s total transaction value. On the gainers’ table, NCR led with a 10% rise, followed by ROYALEX (+7.57%), CILEASING (+6.00%), LIVINGTRUST (+3.87%), RTBRISCOE (+3.55%), UNIVINSURE (+2.56%), and several others.
Meanwhile, thirty-eight stocks recorded losses. OMATEK and NEIMETH topped the laggards after dropping 10% each. They were followed by TANTALIZER (-9.75%), INTENEGINS (-9.62%), WEMABANK (-8.63%), IKEJAHOTEL (-7.32%), and OANDO (-5.59%).
Market breadth closed negative with 14 gainers against 38 losers. Sectoral performance was broadly weak: Insurance declined the most at -3.82%, while Banking (-1.06%), Oil & Gas (-0.40%), Consumer Goods (-0.32%), and Industrial (-0.01%) also closed lower. The Commodity sector remained unchanged.
 declined by approximately N292 billion, driven by significant sell-offs in Wema Bank, Oando, and several other tickers.){kind=link}