The Nigerian equities market suffered a massive blow on Tuesday as investors recorded losses amounting to ₦1.33 trillion, following heavy sell-offs in blue-chip stocks such as Dangote Cement, Oando, Nigerian Breweries, Zenith Bank, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc.
At the close of trading, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) ended in negative territory, with the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) plunging by 2,200.41 basis points, representing a decline of -1.46%, to settle at 142,522.06 index points. This downturn dragged the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return below the 40% threshold.
Market analysts attributed the sharp decline to aggressive profit-taking in medium- and large-cap stocks, particularly Dangote Cement and Oando, which triggered broader bearish momentum across key sectors.
Despite the dip in overall performance, trading activity showed mixed results. The total volume of transactions fell by -10.87% compared to the previous session, while the total value of trades surged by +7.78%. According to brokers’ reports, about 1.022 billion shares worth ₦17.43 billion were exchanged across 34,087 deals.
Top Market Movers
UNIVINSURE topped the volume chart, contributing 12.69% of total trades, followed by AIICO (9.76%), MBENEFIT (6.68%), PRESTIGE (6.52%), and REGALINS (4.50%). In value terms, Nigerian Breweries emerged as the day’s most actively traded equity, accounting for 12.10% of total market turnover.
On the gainers’ list, ENAMELWA advanced by 9.95%, leading other top performers including DAARCOMM (+9.82%), DEAPCAP (+9.60%), ACADEMY (+8.43%), INTBREW (+6.95%), and ELLAHLAKES (+4.89%).
However, losses outpaced gains with 39 decliners against 26 gainers, resulting in negative market breadth. ROYALEX (-10.00%) topped the losers’ chart, followed by DANGCEM (-9.88%), ZENITHBANK (-7.26%), OANDO (-7.11%), NGXGROUP (-6.25%), and FTNCOCOA (-4.29%).
Sectoral Performance
The market’s bearish performance reflected across four of the six major sector indices. Industrial Goods led the downturn with a -4.37% slump due to losses in Dangote Cement, while Insurance fell by -3.86% as NEM stocks dragged. The Banking Index also dipped by -2.06%, weighed down by Zenith Bank, while Oil & Gas shed -0.68% on Oando’s decline.
On the flip side, the Consumer Goods Index gained +0.57%, buoyed by buying interest in International Breweries, while the Commodity Index closed flat.
Overall, the equities market capitalisation contracted by ₦1.33 trillion to settle at ₦90.23 trillion, underlining the extent of investor apathy and weak sentiment.
