Nigerian Equities Market Drops N719bn Amid Profit-Taking

On October 28, the Nigerian equities market faced bearish sentiment, leading to a decline in the All-Share Index (ASI) by 1,107.28 points, or 0.44 per cent, from 253,990.06 to 252,882.78. This drop resulted in a loss of approximately N719 billion in equity market capitalisation, decreasing from N164.913 trillion to N164.194 trillion.

Trading activity was mixed, with an increase in deal count by 8.5 per cent to 39,012 transactions from 35,946, despite a significant decline in total traded volume, which fell by 92.3 per cent to 404.11 million units from 5.23 billion units. Transaction value also decreased by 93.7 per cent to N27.91 billion from N441.47 billion.

Market breadth closed negative, with 39 losers compared to 25 gainers. Sovrreign Trust Insurance led the gainers with a 10.0 per cent increase to N1.98 per share, while First Holdco was the top loser, shedding 10.0 per cent to N139.50 per share.

Analysts noted the session was characterized by bearish sentiment and significantly lower trading turnover.