The Nigerian equities market shed over ₦337 billion as investors returned to selling after a brief rally, driven primarily by profit-taking in banking and oil and gas stocks.
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) key performance indicators slipped midweek, ending down by 57 basis points, erasing Tuesday’s gains. The All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 556.37 points, a 0.57% decrease, closing at 96,567.24 points.
Stockbrokers noted that profit-taking activities were concentrated in major stocks within the banking and consumer goods sectors, including UBA and Zenith Bank, even as strong earnings were posted by these leading banks.
Market activity levels fell sharply, with total trading volume down by 88.39% and trading value decreasing by 60.73%. According to Atlass Portfolios Limited, approximately 418.39 million shares worth ₦10.04 billion changed hands across 9,021 deals.
STERLINGNG led in trade volume, making up 19.04% of the day’s transactions, followed by UBA (18.87%), ACCESSCORP (10.62%), JAIZBANK (10.43%), and VERITASKAP (6.04%).
In terms of trade value, UBA topped the list, representing 25.59% of the total traded value. EUNISELL led the gainers, appreciating by 9.87%, followed by REGALINS with a 9.30% increase.
Other gainers included VERITASKAP (+9.17%), DAARCOMM (+8.93%), FCMB (+7.33%), ETI (+7.34%), along with fourteen others. Meanwhile, twenty-one stocks recorded declines. UBA led the losers with a -9.99% drop, followed by OANDO (-9.98%), NASCON (-7.83%), LASACO (-7.50%), TRANSCORP (-3.33%), and ZENITHBANK (-0.81%).
By the session’s close, the market breadth was slightly negative with 20 gainers and 21 losers. The Oil & Gas (+0.80%), Insurance (+0.49%), and Industrial Goods (+0.03%) sectors closed positive, boosted by buying interest in CONOIL (+3.32%), VERITASKAP (+9.17%), and WAPCO (+0.66%).
On the other hand, the banking sector (-0.92%) and consumer goods sector (-0.13%) closed in the red, with selloffs in UBA (-9.99%) and NASCON (-7.83%) weighing on performance. Overall, the NGX market capitalization dropped by ₦337.13 billion, ending the day at ₦58.51 trillion.
