NGX Declines as Investors Lose N904bn Amid Profit-Taking

By Boluwatife Oshadiya

Key Points

• NGX All-Share Index falls 0.58%
• Investors lose N904.40 billion in market value
• Trading activity increases significantly
• Industrial Goods sector leads gainers

Main Story

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed lower on Tuesday as profit-taking activities triggered a broad-based selloff across key sectors, leading to a decline in market capitalisation by N904.40 billion.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 0.58%, shedding 1,408.82 basis points to close at 241,750.15. Consequently, total market capitalisation declined to N155.15 trillion.

The downturn reflects investors locking in gains from previously bullish positions, particularly in stocks that had experienced strong upward momentum in recent sessions.

Despite the negative close, trading activity improved significantly. Total volume traded increased by 31.09%, while total value surged by 71.57%, with approximately 1.27 billion shares worth N75.23 billion exchanged across 102,665 deals.

In terms of volume, FCMB led market activity with 12.68%, followed by GTCO (7.43%), ACCESSCORP (6.46%), ZENITHBANK (4.98%), and FIDELITYBK (3.82%). GTCO also dominated the value chart, accounting for 17.43% of total transactions.

On the gainers’ chart, RTBRSICOE, VITAFOAM, MCNICHOLS, and ZICHIS recorded maximum gains of 10.00%, while CAP, DANGSUGAR, CONHALLPLC, and FTNCOCOA also posted strong advances.

Conversely, 26 stocks declined, with GUINNESS leading the laggards after shedding 10.00%. Other notable losers included UNIONDICON (-9.82%), AIICO (-9.28%), WEMABANK (-8.72%), MTNN (-8.63%), and SOVRENINS (-8.33%).

Market breadth remained positive, with 45 gainers compared to 26 losers, indicating selective buying interest despite the overall bearish sentiment.

Sectoral performance was mixed. The Industrial Goods index led the gainers, rising 2.49% on the back of strong performance in DANGCEM (+7.22%). The Insurance and Consumer Goods indices also posted gains of 0.94% and 0.40%, respectively.

However, the Oil & Gas index declined by 2.91%, while the Commodity index fell 2.03%, both weighed down by selloffs in key stocks such as ARADEL. The Banking index also dropped by 1.22%, reflecting weakness in WEMABANK.

What’s Being Said

“The market pullback is largely driven by profit-taking, but underlying liquidity and investor participation remain strong,” stockbrokers said.

What’s Next

Analysts expect cautious trading in the near term as investors rebalance portfolios, with attention focused on corporate earnings releases, macroeconomic indicators, and monetary policy signals that could influence market direction.

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