Nigerian Equity Market Declines N581 Billion in Four Days

The Nigerian equity market continued its bearish trend for the fourth consecutive day, closing with a market capitalization loss of N581 billion, representing a 0.37% decline. The overall market capitalization settled at N155.359 trillion, down from N155.940 trillion in the previous session.

The share index retreated by 905.30 absolute points, reflecting a decline of 0.37% to close at 242,227.31 points. This downturn was primarily driven by price depreciation in large and medium-capitalized stocks, including Aradel Holdings (NGX: ARADEL), UACN, Stanbic IBTC (NGX: STANBIC), and Eterna (NGX: ETERNA).

The market breadth closed negative, with 30 decliners outpacing 24 advancers, indicating a dominant bearish sentiment. Notable losers included McNichols (NGX: MCNICHOLS), which plunged by 10% to close at N7.74 per share, and Eterna, which lost 9.85% to close at N29.75 per share.

Conversely, Convers Intern Energy Insurance recorded a 10% gain, closing at N6.60 per share. Trading volume decreased by 43.4%, totaling 522.28 million units valued at N24.11 billion across 53,613 transactions.