Investors in the Nigerian stock market saw their wealth shrink by N782 billion on Tuesday as bearish trading persisted for the third consecutive session, extending losses recorded since last Friday.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that market capitalisation declined by 0.50 per cent to N155.203 trillion, down from N155.985 trillion recorded in the previous trading session.
The All-Share Index also dropped by 1,219.93 points, or 0.50 per cent, closing at 241,984.80 compared to 243,204.73 posted earlier.
Despite the downturn, the market’s Year-to-Date return remained positive at 55.50 per cent. However, investor sentiment weakened as market breadth closed negative, with 37 stocks recording losses against 20 gainers.
Vitafoam and International Energy Insurance topped the losers’ chart after shedding 10 per cent each to close at N189 and N5.76 per share, respectively. Austinlaz fell by 9.93 per cent to N3.90, Sunu Assurances dropped 9.82 per cent to N3.58, while Sovereign Trust Insurance declined by 8.37 per cent to N2.30 per share.
On the gainers’ side, Conoil and Prestige Assurance rose by 9.79 per cent each, closing at N213 and N1.57 per share, respectively. Neimeth Pharmaceuticals and Cornerstone Insurance also recorded notable gains.
Trading activity slowed during the session, with total volume traded falling by 28.11 per cent to 535.53 million shares valued at N36.84 billion across 55,123 deals.
Sterling Nigeria emerged as the most actively traded stock by volume, with 100.90 million shares exchanged, representing 18.84 per cent of the day’s total volume. UAC of Nigeria led in value terms with transactions worth N9.12 billion, accounting for 24.74 per cent of total market value traded.
Tuesday’s decline marks the third consecutive day of losses on the Nigerian stock market, leaving investors increasingly cautious as the market searches for fresh momentum.
