NGX shrinks by N324bn as equity investors book profit

Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation shrank by N324 billion on Wednesday as equity investors booked profit on some stocks, dragging key performance indicators downward. Details from the trading session revealed that the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 0.36% to close at 141,248.76 points, reducing the year-to-date return to 37.23%. Stockbrokers said total market capitalization contracted by ₦324.34 billion to ₦89.37 trillion due to fluctuation in stock prices across sectoral indexes.
Investors’ sentiment remained subdued, evidenced by a negative breadth with 16 stocks advancing compared to 40 declining. The shadow loss signalled a dip in investors’ wealth and pointed to a more cautious market sentiment.
However, market activities were up today as the total volume and total value of all trades increased by +18.94% and +79.05%, respectively. In its note, Atlass Portfolio Limited told investors that approximately 682.89 million units valued at ₦22,222.42 million were transacted across 28,695 deals. In terms of volume, FCMB led the activity chart, accounting for 15.99% of the total volume of trades, followed by STERLINGNG, CUTIX, ACCESSCORP, and FIRSTHOLDCO, rounding out the top five.
ARADEL emerged as the most traded stock in value terms, accounting for 18.56% of the total value of all trades consummated on the exchange. DEAPCAP topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 4.82 percent, trailed by LEGENDINT, HONYFLOUR, TANTALIZER, AFRIPRUD, UBA, and eleven others. Forty stocks depreciated, trading details from the Nigerian bourse revealed. CORNERST and RTBRISCOE were the top losers, with a price depreciation of -10.00% each, trailed by NGXGROUP, GUINNESS, VFDGROUP, GTCO, and ELLAHLAKES.
Sectoral performance closed in a mix, with declines in Banking (-0.76%), Insurance (-3.42%), and Consumer Goods (-0.86%) sectors. The Oil & Gas sector, however, posted a modest gain of 0.18%, while the Industrial and Commodity sectors remained flat.