Nigerian Stock Market Loses N577bn as Investors Take Profits – NGX ASI Dips 0.47%

The Nigerian stock market yesterday experienced a significant pullback, halting its 11-day winning streak as investors engaged in profit-taking. Market capitalisation dropped by N577 billion, signaling a pause in the recent bullish trend and sparking caution among traders.

The Nigerian Exchange Limited All Share Index (NGX ASI) slipped by 899.50 basis points, or 0.47 per cent, to close at 189,362.94 points. Month-to-date returns tapered to 14.5 per cent, while year-to-date gains now stand at 21.7 per cent, reflecting a slowdown in market momentum after consecutive gains.

Sector performance was mostly negative, with the NGX Banking Index leading declines at -3.7 per cent, followed by NGX Insurance (-0.6 per cent), Industrial Goods (-0.5 per cent), and Oil & Gas (-0.1 per cent). Conversely, the NGX Consumer Goods Index bucked the trend with a 2.5 per cent gain, offering some respite to investors amid broad losses.

Despite the overall decline, market sentiment remained mildly positive. Forty-four stocks advanced, slightly outnumbering the 40 that declined. Top gainers included ABC Transport (+9.94%), Zichis Agro Allied Industries (+9.93%), and Red Star Express (+9.87%), while Zenith Bank, MeCure Industries, and Skyway Aviation Handling Company posted steep losses of around 10 per cent each.

Trading volume fell 8.63 per cent to 1.2 billion units, valued at N60.193 billion across 86,607 deals. Access Holdings led activity with 103.486 million shares traded, while Zenith Bank and Japaul Gold & Ventures followed closely. Analysts at Imperial Asset Managers advised cautious positioning, recommending that investors seek bargains in fundamentally strong, dividend-paying stocks that have temporarily dipped.

source: This day