The Nigerian stock market took a hit on Friday as investors grappled with a 0.25 per cent decline, wiping out a staggering N167 billion from the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) market capitalisation.
The downward trend signalled a wave of sell-offs and dampened investor confidence, leaving market watchers on edge.
From an opening value of N66.518 trillion on Thursday, the NGX capitalisation slumped to N66.351 trillion, marking a sharp decline. Likewise, the All-Share Index (ASI) tumbled by 265.81 points to settle at 105,955.13, down from the previous close of 106,220.94.
Market sentiment remained negative, with 24 stocks posting losses against 22 gainers. Among the worst-hit were Tantalizer, which nosedived by 9.85 per cent to close at N2.93, and Jaiz Bank, which plunged 9.72 per cent to settle at N3.25 per share.
Neimeth International Pharmaceutical suffered a 9.45 per cent drop to close at N2.49, while industry heavyweight Dangote Sugar fell by 7.76 per cent to N35.05 per share. Lasaco Assurance also dipped 5.96 per cent, closing at N2.68 per share.
Despite the downturn, a few stocks managed to defy the bearish trend. Royal Exchange led the gainers, surging by 10 per cent to close at 88k. Linkage Assurance soared 9.57 per cent to N1.26 per share, while Guinea Insurance rose 9.52 per cent to close at 69k. Nigerian Enamelware climbed 9.05 per cent to N25.30, and Red Star Express advanced 8.41 per cent to settle at N5.80 per share.
Trading activity, however, surged, with an impressive 750.56 million shares worth N11.056 billion exchanging hands in 10,584 deals. This marked a sharp increase from the 341.70 million shares valued at N16.655 billion recorded in the previous session.
Market leaders in trading volume included Champion Breweries, which dominated the activity chart with 350.37 million shares worth N1.401 billion. Tantalizer followed with 53.070 million shares valued at N157.14 million, while Custodian Investment moved 51.11 million shares worth N1 billion. Lasaco Assurance recorded 36.501 million shares traded at N97.714 million, and Access Corporation exchanged 30.703 million shares valued at N722.99 million.
