Profit-Taking Drags Nigerian Stock Market Down by N377.9bn After Sallah Break
The Nigerian stock market opened on a bearish note after the Sallah holiday, suffering a major setback as investors embarked on profit-taking, particularly in blue-chip stocks such as MTN Nigeria Communications Plc. The market shed a total of N377.9 billion in capitalization, largely due to MTN Nigeria’s 2.88% share price decline to N310.00. This dragged the overall market capitalisation down to N71.898 trillion from N72.275 trillion, signaling a cautious return to trading activity for the week.
In line with the market’s drop in value, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) also recorded a 0.52% loss, falling by 599.27 basis points to close at 114,017.48. Despite this decline, investor sentiment remained relatively upbeat as 35 stocks recorded gains against 25 decliners. Top gainers included Berger Paints, DAAR Communications, and eTranzact, each gaining 10%, while Legend Internet and Omatek Ventures also posted strong performances.
On the losers’ chart, R.T. Briscoe Nigeria led the decline with a 10% drop to N2.25 per share. Other notable fallers included John Holt, Beta Glass, Aradel Holdings, and Deap Capital, with losses ranging from 8% to nearly 10%. The slump in these stocks reflected the ongoing correction in the market following previous gains.
Trading activity also took a hit, with total volume plunging by 55.4% to 652.6 million units valued at N18.9 billion across 23,978 deals. Despite the decline, key players such as Access Holdings, Zenith Bank, GTCO, Fidelity Bank, and Wapic Insurance remained active, accounting for a significant portion of trading volume and value for the day.
Looking ahead, analysts at United Capital Plc remain cautiously optimistic, forecasting a mildly positive trend supported by excess financial system liquidity and anticipation of Q2 earnings. However, they noted that expected public holidays like July 12 for Democracy Day could reduce trading sessions, impacting overall market participation. Investors are advised to focus on fundamentally strong stocks with good interim dividend prospects as the earnings season approaches.
Source: This day