The bearish momentum in the Nigerian equities market persisted on Thursday, with investors losing ₦348 billion as selloffs across several key stocks deepened losses for the fourth consecutive trading session.
Market capitalisation dropped from ₦95.664 trillion to ₦95.316 trillion, representing a 0.36% decline. Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 547.32 points to close at 150,573.87, compared with 151,121.19 recorded on Wednesday.
The market’s year-to-date return also weakened further, sliding to 45.76%, while the market breadth closed negative, with 39 decliners outpacing 15 gainers.
Top Losers and Gainers
Heavy selloffs in Legend Internet, Champion Breweries, Tantalizer, Sovereign Trust Insurance, and Linkage Assurance were major drags on the session.
- Legend Internet led the losers’ chart, falling 9.93% to close at ₦5.26 per share.
- Champion Breweries followed with a 9.72% loss to ₦14.40, while Tantalizer dipped 8.12% to ₦2.15.
- Sovereign Trust Insurance declined 7.51% to ₦3.08, and Linkage Assurance shed 7.50% to end at ₦1.85 per share.
Conversely, UPDC led the gainers’ table with a 9.83% rise to ₦6.59, followed by FCMB, which advanced 8% to ₦10.80.
Omatek Ventures appreciated 7.44% to ₦1.30, while AIICO Insurance and AXA Mansard Insurance gained 5.35% and 5.26% to close at ₦3.74 and ₦14.00, respectively.
Market Activity Slows
Trading activity declined across key indicators, with investors exchanging 619.63 million shares worth ₦16.5 billion in 24,865 deals — down from 1.11 billion shares valued at ₦29.8 billion traded in 27,303 deals on Wednesday.
FCMB Group led the activity chart with 149.9 million shares worth ₦1.6 billion, followed by Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, which traded 79.1 million shares valued at ₦319.7 million.
In terms of value, Zenith Bank topped the chart with ₦2.51 billion worth of shares traded, followed by Sterling Nigeria with ₦314.9 million, and Access Holdings, which recorded ₦731.4 million in transactions.
The market’s continued decline underscores investor caution amid profit-taking and weak demand for select stocks, as analysts monitor upcoming corporate earnings and macroeconomic indicators for a potential rebound.
(Source: NAN)
