Nigerian Equities Market Loses N894bn Amid Profit-Taking

The Nigerian equities market closed the last trading session of September on a bearish note, with a total loss of N894.36 billion in investor wealth over two days due to aggressive profit-taking. On Tuesday, the All-Share Index decreased by 721.91 points, or 0.29 percent, settling at 251,913.20 points and erasing N468.63 billion from equity valuation.

This downward trend continued into Wednesday, with the index dropping an additional 0.28 percent to close at 251,211.67 points. Total market capitalization fell from N163.99 trillion at the beginning of the week to N163.10 trillion, with a N425.73 billion loss recorded on the final trading day of the month.

Heavy sell-offs in blue-chip stocks, including GTCO and Zenith Bank, contributed to this contraction. Despite the bearish environment, BUA Cement saw a recovery, gaining N9.20 to finish at N297.00 per share, which helped the NGX Industrial Index rise by 0.66 percent.

Market turnover remained active, with 548.65 million shares traded on Tuesday and 1.035 billion shares on Wednesday.