Nigerian Stock Market Loses N577 Billion as Equities Retreat After Rally

|By Babatunji Wusu

The Nigerian equities market reversed its recent bullish streak on Tuesday, shedding N577 billion in value after consecutive gains exceeding N11.86 trillion over several days.

Market capitalization of listed equities slipped 0.48 percent, dropping from N122.129 trillion to N121.552 trillion, while the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 899.50 points to close at 189,362.94, down from Monday’s 190,262.44. This movement moderated the year-to-date return to 21.66 percent. Despite the downturn, market breadth remained positive, with 44 stocks advancing against 40 lagging.

ABC Transport led the gainers, surging 9.94 percent, followed by Zichis, Red Star Express, Meyer, and Japaul Gold. On the flip side, Skyway Aviation Handling Company, Mecure, and Zenith Bank tumbled 10 percent each, with RT Briscoe and Tripple Gee also among the losers.

Trading activities saw a 12 percent rise in volume and a 34 percent increase in the number of deals, even as total value traded dipped by six percent. Investors exchanged 1.2 billion shares valued at N60.2 billion across 86,607 deals, compared to 1.1 billion shares worth N64.02 billion traded in 64,821 transactions on Monday.

Access Corporation recorded the highest trading volume with 103.49 million shares, representing 8.62 percent of total activity, while Zenith Bank posted the highest value traded at N8.01 billion, accounting for 13.30 percent of the day’s total.

Tuesday’s reversal follows Monday’s massive gain of N5.1 trillion and last week’s rally that added N6.76 trillion to investors’ portfolios, highlighting the market’s ongoing volatility.