Lagos: Heavy sell-offs in major stocks halted the Nigerian equities rally on Tuesday, pushing the market into negative territory and resulting in investor losses of ₦904 billion.
This decline marked the end of a four-day rally on the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX), reversing the recent positive trend.
Contributing to this reversal, heavy profit-taking in Guinness Nigeria, Union Dicon Salt, AIICO Insurance, Wema Bank, MTN Nigeria and others pressured market performance.
At the close, the market capitalisation fell from N156.056 trillion to N155.152 trillion, losing N904 billion, or 0.58 per cent.
By the close, the All-Share Index had fallen 1,408.82 points (0.58 per cent), settling at 241,750.15 from 243,158.97 on Monday.
Tuesday’s loss meant the market’s year-to-date return moderated to 55.35 per cent.
Nevertheless, despite the losses, market sentiment remained positive, with 46 gainers and 26 losers.
For instance, among the top gainers were Vitafoam Nigeria, Zichis Agro Allied Industries, RT Briscoe and McNichols.
Each of these stocks appreciated by 10 per cent during the session, with Vitafoam closing at N170.50, Zichis at N25.08, and RT Briscoe at N12.87.
Meanwhile, McNichols ended the session at N7.92 per share. Additionally, Chemical and Allied Products Plc also advanced, gaining 9.99 per cent to settle at N175.65 per share.
On the losing side, Guinness Nigeria shed 10 per cent, closing at N447.30 per share.
Union Dicon Salt slipped 9.82 per cent to N19.75. Ending at N4.30 per share, AIICO Insurance dropped 9.28 per cent.
Wema Bank dropped 8.72 per cent to N30.35, while MTN Nigeria also declined, slipping 8.63 per cent to N83. In addition to price moves, trading activity also weakened, with total volume down 9.85 per cent from previous sessions. A total of 1.27 billion shares, valued at N75.23 billion, were traded. Here exchanged. Transactions were executed across 102,665 deals.
Notably, FCMB Group Plc led the volume chart with 160.59 million shares traded, accounting for 12.66 per cent of total volume, highlighting its significant activity. Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc recorded the highest transaction value at N13.09 billion, representing 17.40 per cent of the day’s total turnover.Total turnover.
