Equity Investors Lose N4.6trn as Nigerian Exchange Bleeds
Equity investors lost N4.61 trillion on Tuesday as sell pressure intensified across sectoral indexes in what looks like a coordinated plan to exit overbought stocks.
The Nigerian Exchange recorded its largest daily losses in decades as investors sentiment plunged following mixed third-quarter earnings performance by listed companies. The stock market capitalisation and all-share index fell by more than 5% as red rain fell in the local bourse.
The unusual event dragged key performance indicators downward sharply, and year-to-date return retreated to 37.31% as investors continued to pull out in successive trading sessions.
The Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index plummeting 5.01% to 141,327.30 points. Market capitalisation declined sharply by ₦4.61 trillion to ₦89.88 trillion, reflecting intensified sell-side pressure.
Market breadth was overwhelmingly negative, with 62 decliners dwarfing just 4 advancers, yielding a severely depressed 0.1x ratio.
FIRSTHOLDCO led the volume chart, accounting for 10.43%, followed by ACCESSCORP (8.60%), ZENITHBANK (6.40%), FIDELITYBK (5.88%), and STANBIC with 4.82%.
GEREGU accounted for 15.04% of the total value of all trades consummated, thereby making it the highest traded on the exchange.
Also, NCR took the lead on the best performer’s chart by generating +9.82%, followed by BERGER (+2.56%), FCMB (+0.96%), and MANSARD (+0.25%).
A total of sixty one stocks depreciated, trading data showed. On the worst performers’ chart, ACADEMY, BUACEMENT, CUSTODIAN, DANGCEM, DEAPCAP, MTNN, OANDO, and TRANSCORP all witnessed a price depreciation of -10.00% each.
Losses were broad-based across all sectors: Industrial led the decline at -8.55%, followed by Banking (-7.27%), Oil & Gas (-4.65%), Insurance (-4.33%), Consumer Goods (-2.20%), and Commodity (-2.07%).
Trading activity presented a mixed picture: volume surged 80.03% to 655.95 million shares, and transaction values jumped 158.87% to ₦29.39 billion, yet deal count contracted 9.23% to 29,588 trades.
This divergence suggests concentrated institutional selling and large block trades, rather than broad-based market participation, Cowry Asset told investors.
Stockbrokers said the confluence of aggressive sell-offs, sectoral weakness, and concentrated trading patterns indicates significant de-risking by major investors amid deteriorating market sentiment.
