The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed lower on Friday, with equity investors losing about N166 billion as the All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 0.19% amid persistent sell pressure.
Weakened market sentiment and fading earnings season momentum drove profit-taking across key sectors, particularly banking, insurance, and oil and gas. Medium- and large-cap stocks such as Mansard, Oando, Accesscorp, and Nigerian Breweries were among the major drags on performance.
At the close of trading, the ASI shed 272.34 basis points to settle at 140,284.90, while year-to-date return moderated slightly to 36.30%. Market capitalisation also dropped by N165.63 billion to N88.77 trillion.
Trading Activity
Market activity slowed sharply, with total volume down 50.83% and value falling 63.28%. Investors exchanged 435.14 million units worth N10.39 billion across 25,609 deals.
VFD Group led in volume, accounting for 11.38% of total trades, followed by Nsltech, Accesscorp, GTCO, and FBN Holdings. In value terms, GTCO dominated with 19.01% of total turnover.
Gainers and Losers
LearnAfrica led the gainers’ chart with a 9.86% price jump, followed by Union Dicon, Prestige, Academy, Omatek, Berger, and 12 others.
On the flip side, John Holt topped the losers’ table after shedding 10%. Univinsure, Oando, Zenith Bank, Transcorp, and Legend IT also posted notable declines.
Sector Performance
Sectoral performance was largely negative. Banking, Insurance, Oil & Gas, and Industrial indices all closed in the red, while Consumer Goods eked out a modest 0.14% gain. The Commodities index remained flat.
Market Sentiment
Market breadth closed negative, with 31 losers outpacing 18 gainers, underscoring the prevailing bearish mood.
