By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigerian stock market began the week on a negative note, as investors lost N276 billion following widespread sell-offs across key equities.
Market capitalisation declined by 0.21 per cent to N128.693 trillion, down from N128.969 trillion recorded in the previous trading session. Similarly, the NGX All-Share Index dropped by 428.63 points, or 0.21 per cent, to close at 200,484.43 compared to 200,913.06 earlier.
The downturn was driven by losses in major stocks, including Secure Electronic Technology Plc, May & Baker Nigeria Plc, Legend Internet Plc, Cutix Plc, and Fortis Global Insurance Plc, alongside 29 other equities.
As a result, the year-to-date (YTD) return moderated to 28.84 per cent, while market breadth closed negative, with 34 losers outweighing 27 gainers.
On the losers’ chart, Secure Electronic Technology led with a 10 per cent decline to close at N1.17 per share. May & Baker dropped by 9.42 per cent to N38, while Legend Internet fell by 8.67 per cent to N6.85 per share.
Cutix also shed 8.29 per cent to close at N3.21, and Fortis Global Insurance declined by 7.97 per cent to N1.27 per share.
Conversely, gainers provided some cushion to the market. Austinlaz & Company Plc led the advancers with a 9.98 per cent increase to close at N4.41 per share.
Zichis Agro Allied Industries Ltd rose by 9.93 per cent to N15.16, while Transcorp Power Plc gained 9.65 per cent to close at N2.84 per share.
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Other notable gainers included The Initiates Plc, which advanced by 9.60 per cent to N21.70, and Learn Africa Plc, which appreciated by 9.41 per cent to close at N9.30 per share.
Trading activity showed mixed performance, with an increase in the value of transactions and number of deals, despite a slight decline in volume. A total of 593.3 million shares valued at N25.6 billion were exchanged in 60,311 deals.
This compares with 595.2 million shares worth N24.5 billion traded in 43,440 deals in the previous session.
On the activity chart, Access Holdings Plc led in volume with 86.64 million shares traded, while First HoldCo Plc topped the value chart with transactions worth N4.26 billion.
