The Nigerian stock market faced another tough session as sustained sell-offs dragged the market further into negative territory. Investors continued profit-taking, causing the market to extend its bearish trend and wiping off more than N1.3 trillion in market value by the close of trading.
At the end of Wednesday’s session, the All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 2,055.74 points, or 1.36%, to settle at 150,573.87 points. Similarly, market capitalization fell by N1.306 trillion, closing at N95.665 trillion, signaling widespread losses across key sectors.
The downturn was driven by sharp declines in medium and large-cap stocks, including Beta Glass, MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN), Julius Berger Nigeria, Lafarge Africa, and Skyway Aviation Handling Company. Analysts at Afrinvest Limited predicted that the bearish momentum could persist, citing continued sell pressure and weak investor confidence.
Despite the overall negative sentiment, a few stocks managed to record gains. NCR Nigeria led the chart with a 10% increase to close at N17.60 per share, followed by Legend Internet, which rose by 9.16% to N5.84, and Cornerstone Insurance, which gained 8.80% to N6.18. Other top gainers included UPDC and Linkage Assurance, which advanced by 8.30% and 8.11% respectively.
On the flip side, C&I Leasing and Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) both fell by 10%, closing at N5.58 and N45.00 per share respectively. Beta Glass and Skyway Aviation also declined by 9.99%, while R.T. Briscoe lost 9.92%. Market activity, however, surged as total volume traded jumped 63.36% to 1.117 billion units, valued at N29.78 billion, across 27,303 deals, with Fidelity Bank leading the activity chart at over 608 million shares traded.
source: Leadership