Equity market sheds N444bn in renewed sell-off

By Seun Ibiyemi 

The Nigerian equities market suffered further losses on Wednesday as investors collectively shed N444 billion following widespread declines across several major stocks.

The downturn was triggered by a slump in the share prices of companies such as Learn Africa, Cadbury, and Meyer, among others. 

This dragged the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) down to 143,064.57 points, compared to 143,763.13 points recorded on Tuesday.

Market capitalisation also slipped from N91.4 trillion to N90.9 trillion after five hours of trading on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange.

Despite the loss in value, market sentiment remained moderately positive, with 29 gainers, 27 losers, and 90 unchanged equities across 19,919 deals.

A total of 738.35 million units of shares worth N35.5 billion were exchanged during the session.

AIICO, NCR Nigeria, and Ikeja Hotels led the gainers’ chart with 10 per cent, 9.96 per cent, and 9.41 per cent appreciation, respectively. They closed at: N3.52 (AIICO), N49.70 (NCR Nigeria), N25.00 (Ikeja Hotels)

Learn Africa recorded a 10 per cent loss to close at N5.22. Cadbury fell by 9.92 per cent to N53.10, while Meyer dropped 9.91 per cent to close at N14.55.

On the volume chart, Guaranty Trust Holding Co (GTCO) dominated with 134 million shares traded in 1,010 deals, followed by Access Holdings with 110 million shares in 1,128 deals, and FBN Holdings, which traded 62 million shares in 254 deals.

GTCO also led on the value index with N11.5 billion worth of shares traded. Stanbic IBTC followed with N3.3 billion, while Nigerian Breweries posted trades valued at N2.5 billion.

The persistent decline underscores the cautious mood among investors as the market navigates ongoing volatility.