Equities Market Dips 0.05% As Investors Shed N73bn

The Nigerian equities market closed slightly lower on Thursday as investors lost N73 billion following renewed profit-taking in selected large and medium-capitalisation stocks.

At the close of trading, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index declined by 0.05 per cent, shedding 113.47 points to settle at 244,738.74 points. Consequently, the market capitalisation fell by N73 billion to close at N156.970 trillion.

The market’s negative performance was driven by price declines in stocks such as UACN, May & Baker Nigeria, Zenith Bank, Fidson Healthcare and Nigerian Breweries, which weighed on overall investor sentiment.

Despite the marginal decline, market breadth remained balanced, with 31 gainers matching 31 losers.

Among the top gainers, Learn Africa, Nigerian Enamelware, University Press and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings appreciated by 10 per cent each to close at N11.00, N40.70, N5.50 and N8.25 per share, respectively. Associated Bus Company gained 9.86 per cent to close at N7.80, while The Initiates Plc (TIP) advanced by 9.85 per cent to N33.45 per share.

On the losers’ table, International Energy Insurance led with a 10 per cent decline to close at N7.11 per share. May & Baker Nigeria followed with a loss of 8.51 per cent to N43.00, while Tripple Gee & Company fell by 8.47 per cent to close at N4.00 per share.

Abbey Mortgage Bank dropped 7.69 per cent to N11.40, while AXA Mansard Insurance shed 6.67 per cent to close at N12.60 per share.

Trading activity also weakened during the session, with total volume traded declining by 40.29 per cent to 1.721 billion units valued at N52.813 billion and exchanged in 49,807 deals.

FCMB Group emerged as the most actively traded stock, accounting for 584.865 million shares worth N5.917 billion. Access Holdings followed with 579.820 million shares valued at N13.949 billion, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) recorded 106.980 million shares worth N4.601 billion.

Other heavily traded stocks included Nigerian Exchange Group, which recorded 49.098 million shares valued at N6.694 billion, and AIICO Insurance, which transacted 30.127 million shares worth N134.242 million.

Market analysts said the slight downturn reflects continued profit-taking by investors after recent gains, although strong interest in banking and financial services stocks helped moderate the overall decline.