NGX sheds 1.02%, wipes N1.62trn from market cap in midweek sell-off

The Nigerian equities market retreated on Wednesday as the NGX All-Share Index declined 1.02per cent to close at 249,062.37 points, erasing N1.62 trillion from aggregate market capitalisation, which settled at N159.66 trillion.

The pullback trimmed the index’s year-to-date return to 60.05per cent, though the market remains one of the strongest-performing exchanges globally on that metric.

Selling pressure was concentrated in the industrial sector, where the NGX Industrial Index fell 3.84 per cent  the steepest sectoral decline of the session. Consumer Goods shed 0.45per cent, Banking lost 0.31per cent, and Oil & Gas eased 0.10per cent. Insurance was the sole gainer among tracked sectors, advancing 0.80per cent, while the Commodity index closed flat.

BUA Cement bore the heaviest losses among individual stocks, declining 10.00per cent to lead the day’s losers. CAP Plc followed with a 9.99per cent drop, while eTranzact, International Breweries, and DEAP Capital recorded losses of 7.03per cent, 5.38per cent, and 4.92per cent respectively.

Despite the index decline, market breadth closed positive at 1.6x, as 40 advancing stocks outpaced 25 decliners. ZICHIS and ABCTRANS each gained 9.99per cent to top the advancers’ chart, followed by JapaulGold at 9.95per cent, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank at 9.92per cent, and FTN Cocoa at 9.91per cent.

Trading activity was mixed. Volume fell 14.74per cent to 600.22 million shares and deal count declined 8.65per cent to 58,958 transactions, though naira turnover edged up 1.76per cent to N32.71 billion.

AccessCorp led by volume with 55.96 million units traded, while Zenith Bank commanded the highest value transactions at N4.81 billion, accounting for 15per cent of total naira turnover.

Cowry Asset Management, in its daily note, said the market “is expected to rebound as investors reposition their portfolios, underpinned by the broadly positive sentiment currently surrounding the Nigerian equities market.”