Stock Market shudders: Market loses N8 billion amid investors panic

By Taiye Olayemi

The Nigerian stock market experienced a slight downturn on Thursday, with market indices dipping by a marginal 0.01%.

At the close of trading, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) saw its market capitalisation fall by N8 billion, settling at N66.147 trillion, down from the previous day’s N66.155 trillion. The All-Share Index also declined by 0.01%, losing 13.37 points to close at 105,511.89, down from 105,525.26 on Wednesday.

The decline was largely attributed to portfolio adjustments as investors sought dividends, leading to a wave of selling activity. Despite the minor drop, the market breadth ended in the red, with 29 stocks losing ground compared to 19 that saw gains.

Among the biggest losers, Lasaco Assurance and AXA Mansard each plummeted by 10%, closing at N2.34 and N8.64, respectively. May Baker Nigeria saw a sharp decline of 8.72%, settling at N7.85, while Guinea Insurance dropped by 8.70%, closing at 63 kobo per share. FTN Cocoa Processors also saw a 6.43% fall, closing at N1.60.

On the flip side, Learn Africa and Livestock Feeds led the gainers, soaring by 10% each to close at N3.30 and N7.92 per share, respectively. VFD Group rose by 9.83%, closing at N59.00, while Union Dicon Salt gained 9.43% to close at N5.80 per share. Nigeria Exchange Group rounded out the gainers with an 8.17% rise, closing at N32.45 per share.

In terms of trading volume, a total of 348.28 million shares valued at N8.108 billion were exchanged over 11,444 transactions. This was a slight decrease from the previous session, which saw 397.19 million shares worth N8.74 billion traded across 13,667 transactions.

The day’s trading activity was dominated by United Bank for Africa, which topped the chart with 26.32 million shares worth N972.39 million. United Capital followed closely with 25.60 million shares valued at N391.50 million, while First City Monument Bank traded 24.15 million shares worth N211.16 million.

Zenith Bank was also a key player, selling 22.86 million shares valued at N1 billion, while Fidelity Bank transacted 22.59 million shares worth N441.65 million.

Despite the modest decline, market experts remain cautious but optimistic, pointing to the ongoing adjustments as part of the natural ebb and flow of the market.