Stock Market in turmoil as NGX bleeds N165bn

By Taiye Olayemi

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed the week in negative territory as sustained sell pressure in medium and penny stocks wiped off N165 billion from investors’ wealth.

At the close of trading on Friday, market capitalisation fell to N88.769 trillion, representing a 0.19 per cent decline from N88.934 trillion recorded the previous day.

Similarly, the All-Share Index at the stock market dropped by 261.74 points or 0.19 per cent to settle at 140,295.50 compared with 140,557.24 posted on Thursday.

The bearish outing was largely attributed to renewed selloffs in stocks such as John Holt, Lasaco Assurance, Guinea Insurance, Universal Insurance, Secure Electronic Technology, and 26 others, dragging overall market breadth into negative territory with 31 losers against 19 gainers.

John Holt led the decliners’ chart after shedding 10 per cent to close at N6.30 per share, followed by Lasaco Assurance, which dropped 9.64 per cent to N3.00.

Guinea Insurance lost 7.79 per cent to settle at N1.42, while Universal Insurance dipped by 6.25 per cent to N1.20 per share. Secure Electronic Technology also slipped by 5.56 per cent to 85k per share.

On the positive side, Learn Africa topped the gainers’ table with a 9.86 per cent increase, closing at N7.80 per share. Union Dicon Salt appreciated by 8.04 per cent to N12.10, while Prestige Assurance gained 6.75 per cent to N1.74. Academy Press advanced by 6.11 per cent to N9.55, and Omatek Ventures rose 6.06 per cent to N1.40 per share.

Trading activity reflected a sharp decline across deals, volume, and value compared with the previous session. Investors exchanged 435.14 million shares valued at N10.4 billion in 25,609 deals, down from 885.02 million shares worth N28.3 billion traded in 26,163 deals on Thursday.

VFD Group was the most active stock, accounting for 49.3 million shares worth N542.2 million. Secure Electronic Technology followed with 33.2 million shares valued at N28.8 million.

Access Corporation transacted 26.9 million shares worth N716.9 million, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company recorded 21.33 million units valued at N1.9 billion.

FirstHoldCo completed the list with 19.93 million shares worth N646.7 million. (NAN)