Nigerian Equities Market Opens Bearish, Loses N1.375 Trillion

The Nigerian equities market commenced the week on a negative note, shedding N1.375 trillion in market capitalization, which represents a decline of 1.06%, bringing the total market capitalization to N127.750 trillion from N129.125 trillion. The NGX share index decreased to 49,014.02 points from 51,156.85 points recorded the previous day.

Despite a positive market breadth with 43 gainers against 23 decliners, the overall market was weighed down by high capitalization stocks, resulting in a year-to-date return of -27.89%. Presco PLC emerged as the top gainer, increasing by 10% to close at N187.20 per unit.

Other gainers included Zichi Agro Allied Industries, John Holt, and Premium Paint. Conversely, Conhal led the losers' chart with a decline of 9.64% to close at N4.50 per share, followed by Deap Capital and GTCO PLC.

Trading volume fell to 848.835 million shares, a decrease of 85.99%, with a total value of N53.750 billion.