The Nigerian stock market closed lower on Wednesday as widespread profit-taking wiped off N121 billion from investors’ portfolios. The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 191.09 points, representing a 0.13% decline, to settle at 145,864.80 points. Market capitalisation also dipped from the previous session, closing at N92.284 trillion.
The downturn was largely driven by price depreciation in several high-cap and mid-cap stocks, including Lafarge Africa, Nigerian Breweries, Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (NNFM), Berger Paints, and Zenith Bank. These losses outweighed gains from other equities, tipping the overall market performance into negative territory despite strong buying interest in select counters.
Interestingly, market breadth remained positive with 53 gainers against 21 losers, indicating bargain-hunting activity amid the sell-off. Top performers included FTN Cocoa Processors, Learn Africa, Prestige Assurance, R.T. Briscoe, Tripple Gee & Company, and Caverton Offshore Support Group — each posting a 10% rise to close at N6.93, N7.70, N2.42, N3.74, N5.17, and N7.92 per share, respectively. AXA Mansard Insurance also gained 9.99% to N19.48, while Ellah Lakes and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings rose 9.96% each to close at N17.66 and N5.63.
On the flip side, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria led the losers’ chart with a 10% drop to N3.42 per share. UPDC declined 7.94% to N8.00, while Legend Internet shed 6.35% to N5.60. Berger Paints slipped 6.16% to N32.00, and Champion Breweries fell 5.75% to N16.38, underscoring the pressure on industrial and consumer goods sectors.
Trading activity improved, with total volume rising by 5.06% to 1.342 billion units valued at N20.215 billion across 30,749 deals. Universal Insurance led the volume chart with 193.435 million shares worth N282.415 million, followed by Japaul Gold and Ventures with 123.163 million shares valued at N389.976 million. Veritas Kapital Assurance recorded 93.216 million shares worth N260.054 million, while Access Holdings and Sterling Financial Holdings traded 84.985 million and 68.202 million shares valued at N2.347 billion and N552.619 million, respectively.
Source: Leadership