Nigerian Stocks Fall Second Day Running as Investors Shed N1.67 Trillion
By Aboki Forex —
The Nigerian stock market fell for a second straight session on Wednesday, with the All-Share Index down 2,579.01 points or 1.05% to close at 242,223.10 points. The sell-off wiped N1.67 trillion off the value of listed equities, pushing total market capitalisation down to N157.050 trillion.
The back-to-back decline cut the market's year-to-date return to 55.66%. Losers heavily outnumbered gainers, with 44 stocks declining against just 11 advancing.
Breweries and Property Stocks Lead Gainers
Champion Breweries topped the gainers' chart, rising 9.90% from N10.10 to N11.10. VFD Group followed with a 9.52% gain from N10.50 to N11.50.
UPDC climbed 5.88% from N3.40 to N3.60. Ikeja Hotel added 4.58% to close at N44.50 from N42.55, while Cutix edged up 3.06% from N2.29 to N2.36.
Five Stocks Hit 10% Limit
At the other end, Omatek, Zichis Agro-Allied Industries, Japaul Gold, FTN Cocoa Processors and McNichols each fell by 10%.
Omatek dropped from N1.50 to N1.35, and Zichis fell from N17.10 to N15.39. Japaul Gold shed value from N2.60 to N2.34, FTN Cocoa Processors declined from N8.50 to N7.65, and McNichols slipped from N5.00 to N4.50.
Trading Activity Weakens Across the Board
Investor participation also thinned out. A total of 534.45 million shares worth N22.28 billion changed hands in 46,943 transactions.
Compared with the previous session, traded volume fell 29.0% from 753.17 million units. Transaction value dropped 19.9% from N27.82 billion, and the number of deals declined 13.2% from 54,051.
Sterling Financial Holdings Company was the most active stock by volume, with 78.11 million shares traded at a value of N582.15 million. Mutual Benefits Assurance followed with 75.54 million shares worth N216.01 million.
Access Holdings recorded 25.11 million shares valued at N674.22 million. Zenith Bank saw 22.10 million shares change hands for N2.67 billion, while Chams Holding Company rounded out the top five with 19.56 million shares valued at N64.49 million.
Analysts described the session as one dominated by bearish sentiment, with sustained selling pushing equities further into negative territory and all major activity indicators pointing to reduced market engagement.
The weaker turnover is a signal worth watching. Thinner volumes mean fewer buyers are willing to step in at current prices, which leaves the market more exposed to further declines if selling continues into the next session.