Investors lose over N150bn as NGX dips for fourth straight session
BY TEMITOPE ADEBAYO
The Nigerian equities market extended its losing streak into a fourth consecutive session on Monday, as investors lost approximately N152 billion following a 0.20 per cent decline in the NGX All-Share Index (ASI), which closed at 119,741.23 points.
The market capitalisation also slipped by 0.20 per cent to N75.80 trillion, reducing the year-to-date return to 16.34 per cent.
The persistent downturn was largely driven by selloffs in heavyweight stocks, particularly Dangote Cement, which fell by 3.41 per cent, alongside losses in GTCO (-1.23 per cent) and Zenith Bank (-1.58 per cent).
These losses outweighed modest gains in Nestle Nigeria (+3.45 per cent), Lafarge Africa (+0.34 per cent), and Transcorp (+0.10 per cent).
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Trading activity sharply declined, reflecting waning investor confidence. Total volume traded dropped by 74.06 per cent, while the value of transactions dipped by 74.56 per cent. The number of trades also declined by 14.40 per cent.
Ellah Lakes (+9.95 per cent) led in volume with 46.05 million shares, while Nigerian Breweries (+1.69 per cent) topped the value chart with N1.75 billion worth of trades.
Despite the negative close, market breadth remained positive at 2.04:1, as 47 gainers outpaced 23 losers, led by RT Briscoe (+10.00 per cent) and UPL (-10.00 per cent), respectively.
Meanwhile, the NASD OTC Securities Exchange posted a modest recovery as the NASD Securities Index (NSI) gained 0.91 per cent to close at 3,377.8 points, with market capitalisation rising to N1.98 trillion.
However, trading activity fell sharply, with volume down 80.36 per cent to 166,176 units, and value of transactions dropping by 59.52 per cent to N6.54 million, driven by only 19 trades—a 42.42 per cent decline from the previous session.
