Investors lose N758bn, as NGX extends bearish run

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) extended its bearish run into a fourth consecutive trading session on Wednesday. 

A wave of profit-taking in selected large- and mid-cap stocks continued to dominate the floor, easily overshadowing pocketed buying interests.

By the closing bell, the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) shed 0.49% to settle at 240,802.72 points, down from the 241,984.80 points recorded on Tuesday. 

This downturn wiped N758.16 billion off the total market value, pushing the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return down to 54.74%.

Investor sentiment skewed heavily negative, with 51 equities registering losses against just 13 gainers. The downward pressure was heavily driven by sell-offs in otherwise fundamentally strong tickers.

Geregu Power (GEREGU) hit the bottom of the decliners’ table with a 10.00% drop, closing at N1,019.00—well below its 52-week low of N1,132.50. Other notable decliners included Okomu Oil (-9.97%), Red Star Express (-9.95%), Industrial & Medical Gases (-9.31%), and Tourism Research & Development (-7.35%). Major banking and conglomerate stocks also took a hit, including Transcorp (-4.65%), FBN Holdings (-3.97%), Stanbic IBTC (-3.08%), Access Holdings (-1.88%), and Zenith Bank (-0.83%). 

On the flip side, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals (NEIMETH) managed to buck the trend to top the short gainers’ list.

Despite the drop in stock prices, trading activity saw a notable bump. Total volume traded jumped 23.79% to 662.96 million units, valued at N39.98 billion and exchanged across 51,143 deals.

Access Holdings (ACCESSCORP) emerged as the volume leader, moving 130.26 million shares to clear 19.65% of the day’s total volume. Jaiz Bank and Sterling Financial Holdings followed closely, capturing 17.33% and 4.69% of total volume, respectively. 

In terms of liquidity, MTN Nigeria (MTNN) led the market with N8.19 billion in traded value, making up 20.48% of the day’s total financial turnover, while Aradel Holdings and Geregu Power trailed just behind it.