Nigerian Market Loses N1.58 Trillion Amid Sell-offs

The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a bearish note, with the benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) declining by 0.97% week-on-week to close at 248,363.55 points. Market capitalisation decreased by N1.58 trillion, ending the week at N161.26 trillion.

The year-to-date return moderated to 59.60%. This negative performance was primarily driven by losses in Aradel Holdings, Nestle Nigeria, Fidelity Bank, First Holdco, and Access Holdings.

Market sentiment remained weak, with 54 decliners compared to 23 advancers. Tripple Gee & Company gained 32.62% to close at N3.09, while Guinea Insurance rose by 29.17% to 93 kobo per share.

Conversely, Critical Minerals Financing Corp led the decliners with a 20.27% drop to N3.58, followed by ABC Transport with an 18.24% loss to N6.05, and Japaul Gold & Ventures declining by 11.11% to N2.56. A total turnover of 2.715 billion shares worth N158.280 billion was traded in 209,986 deals.

Analysts attributed the decline to sell-offs in fundamentally strong stocks after recent price increases, with expectations of third-quarter earnings likely to influence market direction.