Investors Lose N92.73bn as NGX ASI Index Slips by 0.17%

Samuel Mobolaji

The Nigerian equities market opened the week on a weak note, with investors losing a whopping N92.73 billion as the All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 0.17 per cent.

At the close yesterday’s trading activities, the equities market benchmark index closed at 97,582.41 points, while market capitalization decreased by N92.73 billion, closing at N55.40 trillion.

This decline, reversing the previous session’s gains, was primarily driven by extended selloffs in telco heavyweight MTNN (-5.95 per cent), TRANSCORP (-1.79 per cent), and STERLINGNG (-2.99 per cent), which offset gains in FBNH (+0.49 per cent), UBA (+1.25 per cent), and WAPCO (+0.54 per cent).

Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return fell to 30.50 per cent, and market activities showed an increase in trade turnover compared to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 57.36 per cent.

Analysis of the first trading session of the week, indicated that a total of 324.02 million shares valued at N6.22 billion were exchanged in 9,738 deals. ZENITHBANK (+0.00 per cent) led both the volume and value charts, with 36.99 million units traded in deals worth N1.33 billion.

Market breadth closed flat, with an equal number of gainers and losers. PRESCO (+10.00 per cent) topped the leader’s log, leading twenty-two other gainers, while CHAMS (-10.00 per cent) led twenty-two laggards.

Overall, the market’s weak performance was influenced by significant selloffs in major stocks, despite some gains in a few others. Investors will be closely monitoring these trends and the impact on their portfolios as the week progresses.