The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) shed more than N110 billion in market value as investor confidence continued to slip, dragging the year-to-date performance down to 40.86%.
The All-Share Index recorded another decline, pressured by losses across major sectoral indices. The persistent retreat highlights the cautious trading stance adopted by investors who are still processing the long-term implications of the recently introduced capital gains tax, despite policy clarifications issued by authorities.
Sentiment remained poor across several blue-chip counters, especially within the financial services sector. The benchmark index dropped by 173.26 basis points, closing at 144,986.51, while total market capitalization dipped by ₦110.19 billion — a 0.12% slide — settling at ₦92.21 trillion.
Stockbrokers confirmed that investors collectively lost about ₦110 billion. Market activity showed a mixed performance: the total traded volume climbed by 5.72%, but the value of trades fell sharply by 45.89%.
Data from Atlass Portfolio revealed that roughly 381.23 million units, valued at ₦16,717.22 million, were exchanged across 21,827 transactions.
TANTALIZER dominated market activity, accounting for 16.08% of total traded volume. It was trailed by STERLINGNG (8.59%), UNIVINSURE (7.69%), VERITASKAP (6.91%), and ACCESSCORP, which contributed 4.23%.
On the value chart, ARADEL took the lead, representing 19.23% of the total transaction value. NCR topped the gainers’ log with a 9.95% jump, closely followed by UPL (+9.80%), TANTALIZER (+9.79%), CAVERTON (+9.57%), UNIONDICON (+9.52%), and UNIVINSURE (+9.24%). More than twenty other stocks also closed in the green.
A separate group of twenty-eight equities depreciated as sell pressure spread across the market. LIVINGTRUST led the losers’ list with a 9.90% decline, followed by MCNICHOLS (-9.00%), LIVESTOCK (-7.75%), REGALINS (-6.56%), UPDC (-6.14%), and DAARCOMM (-5.94%).
Consequently, market breadth closed negative, with 26 gainers and 28 losers. Sectoral indices delivered a mixed outcome: Banking, Consumer Goods, and Oil & Gas fell by 0.90%, 0.02%, and 0.04%, respectively, while the Insurance index posted a mild 0.13% uptick.
The industrial goods and commodity indices ended flat. Overall market sentiment remained subdued, mirroring the negative price trend. Although trading volume rose 5.72% to 381 million units, both the volume of deals and total traded value slumped by 21.98% and 45.89%, closing at 21,827 deals and ₦16.71 billion, respectively.
