Investors lose N10.88bn as NGX index dips marginally

BY TEMITOPE ADEBAYO

Investors in the Nigerian equities market lost N10.88 billion on Monday as bearish sentiment persisted, dragging the All-Share Index (ASI) down by 0.01 per cent to close at 119,978.57 points.

This marginal decline trimmed the year-to-date return to 16.57 per cent, while the market capitalisation settled at N75.95 trillion.

Losses in heavyweight banking stocks such as GTCO (-1.52%), Zenith Bank (-1.81%) and Stanbic IBTC (-2.30%) outweighed gains in BUA Foods (+2.23%), Honeywell Flour (+1.42%) and UBA (+0.14%), leaving the overall market performance in the red.

However, investor participation strengthened significantly. Trade volume and value surged by 224.69 per cent and 246.87 per cent respectively, as 2.03 billion shares worth N44.34 billion exchanged hands in 25,172 deals.

Royal Exchange led activity with 502.26 million units traded, while Oando recorded the highest value at N19.87 billion despite shedding 2.74 per cent.

The market breadth closed positive, with gainers outnumbering losers in a 1.84-to-1 ratio. CWG emerged as the top performer with a 10 per cent gain, while Learn Africa declined by the same margin to lead the losers. Most other stocks closed flat, reflecting a cautious trading atmosphere.

On the NASD OTC Securities Exchange, the market also closed lower as the NSI shed 0.11 per cent to end at 3,347.4 points, with market capitalisation at N1.96 trillion.

While volume traded plummeted by 99.62 per cent to 846,042 units, transaction value rose by 86.06 per cent to N16.15 million from 33 deals executed.