Nigerian Exchange Shrinks, Equities Investors Lose N478bn0
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and market capitalisation shrank further on Tuesday, with the equities portfolio balance reducing by N478 billion as sell pressure persisted.
The local bourse extended losses after N1.81 trillion was knocked off the equity market capitalisation, which was carried over into the new month.
The NGX All-Share Index declined by 0.35% to close at 246,686.66 points on Tuesday, stockbrokers said in separate market updates released.
As a result, the year-to-date return moderated to 58.53%, while market capitalisation fell by approximately ₦478 billion to ₦158.21 trillion, partly influenced by the additional listing of Fidson Healthcare shares.
Trading activity was subdued, with declines in the number of deals, volume, and value by 21.98%, 36.26%, and 33.82%, respectively, to 71,683 deals, 718.77 million shares, and ₦29.31 billion. Looking ahead, market sentiment is expected to remain mixed in the next trading session.
Market breadth remained weak at 0.38x, reflecting 37 decliners against 14 gainers. The top gainers included INTENEGINS, TRANSEXPR, NEIMETH, LIVINGTRUST, and ABBEYBDS.
Meanwhile, CWG, PZ, ABCTRANS, WEMABANK, and SOVRENINS led the laggards’ chart.
Sector performance was largely negative, with losses recorded in the Banking (-1.63%), Insurance (-0.44%), Consumer Goods (-0.50%), and Oil & Gas (-0.04%) indices. The Industrial Goods and Commodity sectors, however, closed flat at 0.00%. South African Rand Strengthens on Softer US Dollar, Bonds Rally
