Nigerian Equity Market Loses N889 Billion Ahead of Eid

On the eve of the Eid-el-Kabir holiday, the Nigerian equity market faced a substantial decline, resulting in a loss of N889 billion from investor portfolios. The market closed with the share index down by 1,386.18 points, representing a 0.55% decrease, settling at 249,738.84 points.

The overall market capitalization fell to N160.094 trillion. This downturn was attributed to a broad-based sell-off as traders liquidated positions to preserve capital ahead of the holiday.

The performance was heavily influenced by price depreciation in major stocks, including Transcorp Power, Unilever Nigeria Plc, and Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc. The market breadth showed weakness, with 37 stocks declining against 18 gainers.

Dangote Sugar Refinery led the losses with a 10% drop, closing at N78.30 per share. In contrast, Austin Laz Company recorded the highest gain, rising by 10% to close at N4.40.

Trading volume decreased by 10.38%, with 564.066 million units valued at N27.222 billion exchanged across 65,666 deals.