The Nigerian Stock Exchange experienced a sharp decline on Tuesday, with investors losing N166 billion in market value.
This followed the announcement by the National Bureau of Statistics that Nigeria’s inflation rate dropped to 24.48% in January 2025, down from 34.80% in December 2024, as a result of the rebasing of the Consumer Price Index.
At the close of trading, the NGX All-Share Index dropped by 266.76 points (0.25%) to 107,670.98. Despite this decline, the market recorded a one-week gain of 1.03%, a four-week gain of 4.4%, and a year-to-date gain of 4.61%.
The total market capitalisation of the Nigerian Stock Exchange stands at N67.2tn.
A total of 408.72 million shares were traded in 14,174 deals, with a turnover of N11.26 billion.
This represents a 20% decline in trading volume, a 12% decrease in turnover, and a 17% drop in the number of deals compared to the previous session.
Out of 125 NGX-listed equities that traded, 16 recorded gains, while 40 declined.
Consolidated Hallmark Holdings led the gainers with a remarkable 9.76 per cent increase in share price, closing at N3.71 per share. It was followed by Sunu Assurances Nigeria, which saw a 9.58 per cent rise to N6.52. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals also recorded an 8.77 per cent gain, ending at N3.35 per share. In comparison, Cornerstone Insurance Company posted a 7.03 per cent gain, closing at N3.35.
On the losing side, The Initiates led with a 9.89% drop to N4.01, followed by Union Dicon Salt, which fell 9.82% to N7.35. UPDC declined by 9.09% to N3.10, while Cadbury Nigeria lost 9.06%, closing at N29.10.
Access Holdings led in trading volume with 54.8 million shares, followed by United Bank for Africa with 31.4 million. Guinness Nigeria and Fidelity Bank also ranked among the top volume leaders, trading 30.3 million and 19.9 million shares, respectively.
