The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed on a weak note on Tuesday as market capitalisation fell by ₦79 billion following widespread losses in 27 listed equities. This decline underscores lingering investor caution and profit-taking after a recent rally that had buoyed market sentiment.
By the end of trading, the market capitalisation of listed equities dipped 0.08 per cent to ₦89.555 trillion, down from ₦89.626 trillion the previous day. Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) slid by 114.17 points to settle at 141,544.83 points compared to 141,659.00 points recorded on Monday. The market breadth was negative with 27 decliners outpacing 23 gainers, trimming the year-to-date return to 37.52 per cent.
Trading activity also slowed, with investors exchanging 414.98 million shares, a 25.24 per cent drop from the 555.12 million shares traded the previous session. Sectoral performance mirrored the cautious mood, as the insurance, consumer goods, and banking indices fell by 0.6 per cent, 0.4 per cent, and 0.3 per cent, respectively. In contrast, the oil and gas index edged up by 0.1 per cent, while industrial goods closed flat.
On the gainers’ chart, Custodian Insurance led with a 9.94 per cent jump to ₦44.80 per share, followed by Multiverse, which rose 9.68 per cent to ₦13.60. Entranzact and Eunisell each advanced 9.45 per cent to close at ₦17.95 and ₦27.80 respectively, while Union Dicon gained 8.42 per cent to settle at ₦10.30 per share, signalling pockets of optimism in select counters.
Conversely, AustinLaz topped the losers’ table, shedding 6.27 per cent to close at ₦2.69. Deap Capital dropped 5.56 per cent to ₦1.70, FTN Cocoa lost 4.48 per cent to ₦5.90, Regal Insurance fell 4.40 per cent to ₦1.74, and Champion Breweries dipped 4.26 per cent to ₦15.30. GTCO Plc led trading activity with 32.89 million shares valued at ₦3.25 billion, followed by NSLTech and UBA, while Chams and Regal Insurance also featured prominently on the volume chart.
source: guardian