Profit-taking pressure sends NGX lower, wipes out N1.88trn

On Tuesday, equity investors lost approximately N1.88 trillion due to renewed selling pressure in prominent stocks such as MTN Nigeria, First HoldCo, AccessCorp, GTCO, and other major firms. The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 1.17 percent, with the index closing at 244,802.11, marking a decline of 2,897.67 points. The year-to-date return decreased to 57.31 percent.

The decline was primarily attributed to losses in the banking sector, as investors engaged in profit-taking on medium- and large-cap stocks that had experienced significant gains in recent trading sessions. Consequently, the market capitalization dwindled by N1.88 trillion, closing at N158.72 trillion.

Market activity bolstered during the session, with transaction volume increasing by 84.67 percent and turnover rising by 2.09 percent. A total of 54,051 deals were executed, involving 753.17 million shares valued at N27.82 billion. NEM Insurance stood out as the most actively traded stock by volume, accounting for 17.63 percent of total units traded. MBENEFIT, STERLINGNG, ACCESSCORP, and CONHALLPLC also saw notable trading volumes, occupying 11.80, 5.47, 4.94, and 4.75 percent of the total shares traded, respectively.

NEM Insurance also led trading by value, accounting for 14.67 percent of the total transaction value. On the gainers' chart, ELLAHLAKES led with a 7.07 percent appreciation, followed by NGXGROUP, which increased by 1.38 percent. LEARNAFRCA, WEMABANK, and other stocks also contributed to the positive performance. However, the overall market sentiment remained negative, with 61 stocks experiencing declines against only four gainers.

AVACAP recorded the most significant decline, falling by 10.00 percent, while FTGINSURE, ABBEYBANK, CMFC, FIRSTHOLDCO, and ROYALEX also saw declines of 9.89, 9.74, 9.66, 9.30, and 9.09 percent, respectively.

Sectoral performance was mixed, with the Consumer Goods sector rising by 0.49 percent, while the Oil/Gas and Commodity sectors advanced by 5.76 percent and 4.04 percent, respectively. Conversely, the Banking sector witnessed the largest decline, falling by 5.29 percent. The Insurance sector also recorded a drop of 4.38 percent, while the Industrial Goods sector declined by 0.64 percent.