The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) extended its bearish run on Thursday as investors recorded another N1.005 trillion loss amid sustained sell-offs across banking, insurance and consumer goods stocks.
The market capitalisation declined by 0.63 per cent to N158.34 trillion from N159.34 trillion recorded in the previous trading session, while the All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 0.66 per cent to close at 245,362.26 points, down from 246,980.17 points.
The latest decline follows Wednesday’s N648 billion loss, bringing the cumulative loss suffered by investors over the past two trading sessions to approximately N1.65 trillion.
Despite the downturn, the market has maintained a year-to-date return of 57.67 per cent, although continued profit-taking in major stocks, including HBM Nigeria, NGX Group, NASCON Allied Industries, First HoldCo and Zenith Bank weighed heavily on market performance.
Investor sentiment remained weak, with 45 stocks closing lower against 17 gainers, reflecting widespread selling pressure across several sectors.
Trading activity, however, surged significantly as investors exchanged 2.10 billion shares valued at N230.83 billion in 48,231 deals. Volume traded rose by 177.01 per cent, while the value of transactions increased by 583.04 per cent, although the number of deals declined by 12.71 per cent.
Among the day’s top gainers were Legend Internet, which appreciated by 8.64 per cent to close at N4.40; Daar Communications, up 7.32 per cent to N1.76; Sterling Financial Holdings Company, which gained 6.67 per cent to N8.00; Sovereign Trust Insurance, up 5.73 per cent to N2.03; and Royal Exchange, which advanced by 4.69 per cent to N1.34.
On the losers’ chart, Tripple Gee & Company led with a 10 per cent decline to N2.88, followed by Lasaco Assurance, down 9.92 per cent to N2.18; C&I Leasing, which shed 9.84 per cent to N5.50; Mutual Benefits Assurance, down 9.80 per cent to N3.22; and Trans-Nationwide Express, which fell 9.03 per cent to N2.82.
Sectoral indices also closed largely in negative territory. The Insurance Index posted the biggest decline of 2.26 per cent, followed by the Banking Index, which dropped 2.04 per cent. Consumer Goods fell by 1.10 per cent, while Industrial Goods declined by 0.70 per cent.
Oil and Gas was the only major sector to record a marginal gain of 0.01 per cent, while the Commodity Index closed flat.
Market turnover was largely driven by First HoldCo, which accounted for 1.57 billion shares valued at N196.20 billion, representing about 85 per cent of the day’s total transaction value.
Other actively traded stocks included Access Holdings with 37.40 million shares worth N998.51 million, Sterling Financial Holdings with 36.01 million shares valued at N286.80 million, Ellah Lakes with 34.75 million shares worth N297.83 million, and Zenith Bank with 33.10 million shares valued at N4.03 billion.
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management Limited projected that the market could remain under pressure in the near term as investors continue to take profits across major sectors.
They, however, noted that the sharp rise in trading turnover should not be mistaken for broad-based market strength, stressing that the day’s activity was largely driven by concentrated transactions in First HoldCo, while the broader market remained weak with decliners significantly outnumbering gainers.
