Nigeria’s equities market extended its losing streak on Wednesday as sustained profit-taking in major stocks wiped ₦293 billion off investors’ wealth, pushing market capitalisation lower despite gains in selected equities.
The bearish session saw the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index decline by 451.92 points, or 0.18 per cent, to close at 251,861.24 points, down from 252,313.16 points recorded on Tuesday.
Consequently, market capitalisation fell from ₦163.824 trillion to ₦163.531 trillion, reflecting a loss of approximately ₦293 billion in market value.
The decline was largely driven by sell-offs in Okomu Oil, Enamelware, NASCON Allied Industries, FTN Cocoa Processors and VFD Group, alongside 24 other equities.
Market breadth remained negative, with 29 stocks closing in the red against 23 gainers, indicating that selling pressure extended beyond a handful of heavyweight counters.
Okomu Oil led the losers, shedding 10 per cent to close at ₦1,148.60 per share. Enamelware followed with a 9.96 per cent decline to ₦33, while NASCON lost 8.99 per cent to settle at ₦167.
FTN Cocoa Processors depreciated by 8.36 per cent to ₦6.80, while VFD Group declined by 6.67 per cent to ₦11.20 per share.
On the positive side, University Press topped the gainers’ table, appreciating by 9.89 per cent to close at ₦5. Caverton Offshore Support Group gained 8.96 per cent to ₦3.65, while Abbey Mortgage Bank advanced 8.66 per cent to ₦6.90.
Champion Breweries added 8.56 per cent to close at ₦10.15, while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated appreciated by 6.93 per cent to ₦74.85 per share.
Beyond the decline in prices, trading activity weakened across key market indicators, suggesting reduced participation compared with the previous session.
A total of 418.35 million shares valued at ₦22.83 billion exchanged hands in 30,908 deals, against 545.30 million shares worth ₦30.39 billion traded in 31,543 deals on Tuesday.
This represented a decline in trading volume, transaction value and the number of deals, reflecting a moderation in market activity.
Honeywell Flour Mills dominated transactions by volume, accounting for 75.96 million shares, or 18.16 per cent of total shares traded.
GTCO led by value, with transactions worth ₦4.57 billion, representing 20.03 per cent of the market’s total trading value.
Despite Wednesday’s decline, the market maintained a year-to-date return of 61.85 per cent, underscoring the substantial gains accumulated by investors since the beginning of the year.
