The Nigerian Exchange saw a reversal of previous gains on Wednesday, with the All-Share Index dropping by 708.14 points, or 0.68%, to close at 103,851.88 points.
This decline led to a N445 billion loss in market value, bringing the total market capitalisation down from N65.7 trillion to N65.3 trillion, primarily due to widespread losses in banking stocks, notably Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Zenith Bank.
The market’s decline was mainly caused by significant sell-offs in top-tier banks. Guaranty Trust Holding Company led the losers’ chart, falling by 11.94% to close at N59.00 per share, while Zenith Bank followed with an 11.65% drop to N44.00 per share. Other notable decliners included Industrial and Medical Gases (-10%), Guinea Insurance (-9.52%), and UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust (-8.2%).
Despite the overall decline, 124 listed equities traded on the day, with 24 advancing and 21 declining. Abbey Mortgage Bank led the gainers, rising by 9.99% to close at N8.15 per share. It was followed by Sovereign Trust Insurance, which gained 7.69%, the Nigerian Exchange Group, which increased by 7.3%, and Deap Capital Management and Trust, which saw a 6.67% rise.
Market activity reflected mixed sentiments, with 351.66 million shares worth N13.71 billion exchanged across 12,141 deals. This marked a 5% decrease in trading volume, a 26% increase in turnover, and an 8% drop in the number of deals compared to the previous trading day.
Access Holdings led the volume chart with 68.2 million shares traded, followed by GTCO with 36.8 million shares, FCMB Group with 28.8 million shares, and United Bank for Africa with 26.4 million shares.
Regarding key indices, the NGX Top 30 Index declined by 0.72%, while the NGX Oil and Gas Index fell by 0.05%. The NGX Industrial Index remained flat. However, the NGX Insurance Index rose by 0.8%, the NGX Consumer Goods Index increased by 0.34%, and the NGX Pension Index gained 0.09%.
The NGX has experienced a one-week loss of 0.32% and a four-week decline of 1.84%.
However, it still holds a modest year-to-date gain of 0.9%.
