Stock Market Suffers Fresh Sell-off As All-Share Index Slips 1.17%

The Nigerian equities market recorded a bearish performance on Tuesday, with the benchmark index declining by 1.17 per cent.
The All-Share Index declined by 2,897.67 points, representing a loss of 1.17 per cent, to close at 244,802.11 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value shed N1.878 trillion to close at N158.722 trillion.
The market’s negative performance was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks, which are: MTN Nigeria Communications, First Holdco, UACN, CAP and Zenith Bank.
Market breadth deteriorated sharply, with 63 losers against just four gainers; this broad-based selling pressure points to a pronounced pullback in risk appetite.
Analysts noted that today’s sell-off coincides with the run-up to the Dangote Petroleum Refinery IPO (which opens on September 14, closes and to October 13. The pullback is attributed to investors raising funds ahead of the subscription.
Looking ahead, Imperial Assets Manager Limited market said, “sentiment is likely to stay cautious into the coming sessions, with investor attention on the Dangote Refinery IPO, whose offer window is expected to keep drawing liquidity from existing counters until it closes.
“With banking and insurance stocks now trading at more attractive levels after today’s pullback, bargain hunting in fundamentally sound names could offer near-term support, even as intermittent profit-taking persists.”
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