By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigerian stock market reversed its previous session’s gains on Tuesday as investors lost N599 billion following widespread profit-taking that dragged key performance indicators into negative territory.
At the close of trading, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) market capitalisation declined by 0.38 per cent to N158.015 trillion, down from N158.614 trillion recorded at the opening of the session.
Similarly, the benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) shed 927.70 points, or 0.38 per cent, to close at 244,802.83, compared with 245,730.53 posted on Monday.
The latest decline trimmed the market’s year-to-date (YtD) return to 57.32 per cent.
Investor sentiment remained weak, with market breadth closing in the red as 40 stocks recorded losses against 13 gainers, reflecting sustained selling pressure across several counters.
Multiverse Mining and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank led the losers’ chart after each declined by the maximum daily limit of 10 per cent, closing at N22.95 and N3.42 per share, respectively.
On the gainers’ table, AVA Capital emerged as the best-performing stock, rising 9.94 per cent to close at N9.95 per share, while Nigeria Real Estate Investment Trust (N-REIT) appreciated by 9.71 per cent to settle at N113 per share.
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Despite the bearish close, market activity strengthened significantly as investors traded 1.56 billion shares worth N28.73 billion in 54,160 deals, representing a 69.25 per cent increase in trading volume compared with the previous session.
Japaul Gold dominated the volume chart with 904.42 million shares, accounting for 57.89 per cent of the total shares traded during the session.
In terms of value, MTN Nigeria recorded the highest turnover, with transactions worth N3.25 billion, representing 11.31 per cent of the day’s total market value.
The decline underscores continued volatility on the local bourse as investors balance profit-taking with bargain hunting following the market’s strong year-to-date performance.
