After the October 1 Independence Day holiday, the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) resumed on a downtrend, declining by 0.33 per cent on Wednesday. The drop was largely driven by sell-offs in major stocks like MTN Nigeria and Tier-one banks.
At the opening of the session, the NGX market capitalisation stood at N56.635 trillion but saw a reduction of N187 billion, or 0.33 per cent, closing at N56.448 trillion. Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) shed 327 points or 0.33 per cent, closing at 98,232.39, compared to Monday’s 98,558.79.
As a result, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return of the All-Share Index plummeted by 331.3 per cent. The market’s downturn was largely attributed to losses in key stocks, including MTN Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, FBN Holdings, Access Corporation, Dangote Sugar, and Transnational Corporation, among others.
Market activity analysis showed a significant drop in trade turnover compared to the previous session, with the value of transactions falling by 92.43 per cent. A total of 425.76 million shares worth N8.45 billion were traded across 11,954 deals, in contrast to the previous session, where 1.86 billion shares valued at N111.58 billion changed hands in 10,583 deals.
Additionally, market breadth closed negative, with 32 stocks recording losses while 26 stocks posted gains. On the losers’ chart, Ellah Lakes led with a 9.93 per cent decline, closing at N3.99 per share, while International Breweries topped the gainers’ chart, rising by 9.98 per cent to close at N4.41 per share.
In terms of trading activity, United Bank for Africa (UBA) dominated both the volume and value charts, with 108.02 million shares worth N3.01 billion exchanging hands.
