Investors on Thursday logged losses of N2.18 trillion on the Nigerian Exchange, marking the sharpest decline of the week so far and the fourth straight session in which the market has slid.
Thursday’s market slide
- The Nigerian Exchange Limited reported that market capitalisation fell 1.41% to N152.266 trillion from N154.445 trillion over the trading period, a drop that translated into N2.179 trillion in losses.
- The All-Share Index (ASI) also weakened, shedding 3,397.80 points (1.41%) to close at 237,404.92, down from 240,802.72 at the start of the downturn.
- As a result of the sell-off, the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return retreated to 52.56%.
- Market breadth ended in negative territory, with 40 stocks declining compared with 13 that advanced.
Biggest movers
On the losers’ side, Cadbury, Africa Prudential and Triple Gee were among the worst performers, each down by 10%, closing at N62.10, N11.70 and N3.60 per share respectively. John Holt and McNichols followed.
Gainers were led by Legend Internet, which rose 9.52% to finish at N5.75. NPF Micro-finance Bank added 9.18%, ending at N5.35, while Transcorp climbed 7.32% to settle at N44 per share.
Trading activity
Despite the losses, activity improved. Total traded volume increased 4.33% to 691.64 million shares, valued at N116.85 billion across 50,025 transactions.
- FirstHoldco led by volume, trading 115.84 million shares and accounting for 16.75% of total transactions.
- Dangote Cement led by value, with trades worth N83.39 billion, representing 71.37% of the day’s turnover.
The latest figures add to a streak of declines for investors on the NGX, with losses recorded over the past four trading days.
