Nigerian Equity Market Witnesses Substantial Decline, Investors Lose N1.82 Trillion

The Nigerian equity market commenced the week on a bleak note as investors suffered a significant loss of approximately N1.82 trillion. The day’s trading session was marked by substantial depreciations in key stocks, fueled by strong sell interest prevailing in the market.

Notable declines were witnessed in bellwether stocks, with Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria, NGX Group, NEM Insurance, and Tantalizer recording dips of 10 percent, 10 percent, -9.76 percent, -9.74 percent, and -9.52 percent, respectively.

Both the All-Share Index and the market capitalization of the local bourse witnessed a notable depreciation of 3.15 percent, closing at 102,393.23 points and N56.03 trillion, respectively. This downturn was attributed to waning market sentiment, resulting in a dip in the year-to-date return of the index from 41.39 percent to 36.94 percent.

Despite subdued trading activities, buy pressure was observed in select stocks such as Juli Plc, Daar Communications, Sunu Assurances, ABC Transport, and NAHCO, with their share prices rising by 9.52 percent, 8.64 percent, 6.74 percent, 6.67 percent, and 5.86 percent, respectively.

On the sectoral front, all tracked sub-sector indices closed in red territory. The Industrial Goods sector experienced the most significant decline of 6.02 percent, primarily driven by sell-pressure in Dangote Cement. Following closely was the Insurance sector with a loss of 2.49 percent, attributed mainly to share price declines in NEM Insurance, Linkage Assurance, and VeritasKap.

Other sectors such as Banking, Consumer Goods, and Oil/Gas also witnessed declines of 0.24 percent, 0.77 percent, and 0.28 percent, respectively.

In terms of trading activity, Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc emerged as the most traded security by volume, with 28.85 million units, while Geregu led in value at N1.74 billion.

Overall, the Nigerian equity market faced significant headwinds on Monday, reflecting the prevailing uncertainties and investor caution amid challenging market conditions.