Nigerian Bourse Plunges as Sell-Side Actors Take Profits
The Nigerian bourse closed the session on a negative note as the All-Share Index (ASI) shed 33bps, dropping the year-to-date return to 6.14%, with DEAPCAP leading the gainers at 10.0% while RTBRISCOE topped the losers’ chart with a 10.0% decline.
The market was dominated by sell-side actors taking profits, while a growing number of companies have begun to release their financial results for 2025.
Trading activity showed NEIMETH as the most active by volume with 58.13 million shares exchanged, while ZENITHBANK led by value with trades worth ₦2.3 billion, as 31 stocks advanced against 35 decliners.
Given the trading direction, investors’ wealth plunged by N352 billion. Selloffs in stocks such as RT Briscoe, May and Baker, Ikeja Hotel, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank, eTranzact, and 33 others dragged the market into negative territory.
The market breadth also closed negative, recording 38 losers and 32 gainers. RT Briscoe led the losers’ chart by 9.97 per cent, settling at N6.50, May and Baker trailed by 9.96 per cent, ending the session at N32.25, while Ikeja Hotel lost by 9.92 per cent, finishing at N32.25 per share.
Livingtrust Mortgage Bank dropped by 9.90 per cent, closing at N4.64, and Etranzact dipped by 9.16 per cent, settling at N17.35 per share. On the other hand, Union Homes Real Estate and Deap Capital Management led the gainers’ chart by 9.97 per cent, finishing at N94.85 and N9.49 per share respectively.
Also, Tantalizer increased by 9.92 per cent, settling at N3.88, Skyway Aviation Handling Company rose by 9.91 per cent, closing at 128.60 and Morison grew by 9.90 per cent, ending the session at 9.99 per share.
Analysis of the market activity showed a 29 per cent growth in the volume, two per cent increase in value but a five per cent drop in deals.
A total of 623.2 million shares worth N16.5 billion were traded in 42,172 transactions, compared to 483.09 million shares valued at N17.4 billion that was exchanged across 41,499 deals.
Neimeth International Pharmaceutical recorded the highest volume with 58.13 million shares, accounting for 9.33 per cent of the total volume traded for the day.
Zenith Bank recorded the highest value traded at N2.30 billion, accounting for 13.93 per cent of the total value traded for the day.
Sector performance was broadly weak, with the Banking Index down 44bps on losses in FIDELITYBK (-3.8%), UBA (-0.8%) and FCMB (- 0.5%), despite gains in ZENITHBANK (0.1%), ACCESSCORP (0.4%) and GTCO (0.5%).
The Consumer Index fell 49bps, driven by declines in HONYFLOUR (-3.7%), INTBREW (- 3.5%), MCNICHOLS (-2.1%), and CHAMPION (- 0.5%).
The Oil and Gas Index eased marginally by 4bps following weakness in OANDO (-1.1%), although ETERNA gained 2.8%, while the NGX Industrial Index closed flat as losses in AUSTINLAZ (-7.8%) and CUTIX (-2.4%) offset gains in TRIPPLEG (8.5%).
Overall, market capitalisation declined by 0.33 per cent, or N352 billion, from N106.088 trillion at the opening to N105.736 trillion at the close. Nigeria’s Foreign Reserve Climbs, Reaches Highest in 8 Years
