Equity market sustains bearish trend with N1.064tn loss

The Nigerian Stock Exchange witnessed a bearish performance at the close of trading on Tuesday, with the market capitalisation declining by N1.06tn, marking a drop in value.

The All-Share Index lost 1,745.16 points, or 1.66 per cent, closing at 103,622.09. Despite the losses, the market has shown a 0.68 per cent increase year-to-date.

A total of 508,157,296 shares were traded across 13,051 deals, corresponding to a market value of N11.75 bn, reflecting a 45 per cent improvement in turnover compared to the previous trading day, though the number of deals declined by 8 per cent.

Northern Nigeria Flour Mills led the gainers, appreciating by 10 per cent to close at N45.10 per share, followed by Livestock Feeds, which gained 9.91 per cent, closing at N6.10. Academy Press rose by 9.90 per cent to N3.22, and University Press gained 9.82 per cent to close at N4.81. Neimeth appreciated by 9.76 per cent, closing at N3.15, while SCOA rose 9.71 per cent to N2.26.

On the losing side, Honeywell Flour Mill posted the largest decline, losing 10 per cent to end at N9.54 per share. Dangote Cement and Julius Berger Nigeria both lost 9.98 per cent, closing at N431.00 and N139.80, respectively. Sovereign Trust Insurance dropped by 9.68 per cent to close at N1.12, while Prestige Assurance declined by 9.30 per cent to N1.17. NGX Group saw a decline of 8.47 per cent, ending at N27.00.

Guaranty Trust Holding recorded the highest volume of shares traded with 54.4 million, followed by Nigerian Breweries with 32.2 million shares, Universal Insurance Company with 30.8 million, and Aiico Insurance with 26.6 million.

The Top 30 Index dropped by 1.88 per cent but has risen by 0.31 per cent over the past week and 0.5 per cent year-to-date. The Oil & Gas Index saw a marginal increase of 0.29 per cent but has declined by 0.31 per cent year-to-date.

Additionally, the Banking Index dipped by 0.1 per cent, with a 1.37 per cent increase in the last week and a 2.83 per cent rise year-to-date. The Main Board Index declined by 0.15 per cent today, gaining 0.62 per cent over the past week and 1.11 per cent year-to-date. The Consumer Goods Index fell by 0.27 per cent, while the Pension Index dropped by 1 per cent today but gained 1.53 per cent in the last week and 2.31 per cent year-to-date.

On Monday, investors saw a loss of N51bn in market capitalisation, closing at N64.3tn. The NGX All-Share Index dipped by 0.08 per cent, closing at 105,367.25, but gained 2.37 per cent year-to-date.