Nigerian Investors Count Losses As Stock Market Closes in the Red
- For the first time in the week, Nigerian stock market recorded its first negative trading after consecutive days of gains
- Analysts foresee a week where market movements could be tempered by investors selling off some of their holdings
- Lafarge Africa, Sovereign Trust Insurance, Cutix, Fidelity Bank and Access Holdings were the most actively traded stocks
Legit.ng journalist Dave Ibemere has over a decade of business journalism experience with in-depth knowledge of the Nigerian economy, stocks, and general market trends.
Nigeria’s equities market posted its first decline on Wednesday, March 26, aligning with analysts' predictions of mixed trading sessions this week.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange showed that the market could not sustain its two consecutive, market couldn’t sustain positive as it closed lower by 0.10% or N74 billion on Wednesday.
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Summary of trading activities
At the close of trading, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) moved down from highs of 105,593.28 points to 105,475.38 points, indicating a 0.10% drop.
Meanwhile, market capitalisation dropped from N66.214 trillion a day earlier to N66.140 trillion on Wednesday.
This means investors shed N74 billion after the end of trading.
Here is a snapshot of the market on Wednesday
Lafarge Africa, Sovereign Trust Insuranc, Cutix, Fidelity Bank and Access Holdings were actively traded stocks as investors in 10,908 deals exchanged 5,760,316,590 shares worth N342.60 billion.
Top gainers
- Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc gained N0.08 (10.00%), rising from N0.80 to N0.88.
- Royal Exchange Plc added N0.08 (9.88%), increasing from N0.81 to N0.89.
- NEM Insurance Plc rose by N1.20 (9.84%), climbing from N12.20 to N13.40.
- Lasaco Assurance Plc gained N0.24 (9.56%), moving from N2.51 to N2.75.
- eTranzact International Plc increased by N0.50 (9.52%), from N5.25 to N5.75.
Source: Getty Images
Top losers
- Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust declined by N5.65 (-9.93%), falling from N56.90 to N51.25.
- ABC Transport Plc lost N0.15 (-9.80%), dropping from N1.53 to N1.38.
- Universal Insurance Plc decreased by N0.05 (-8.33%), from N0.60 to N0.55.
- DAAR Communications Plc declined by N0.04 (-6.45%), from N0.62 to N0.58.
- Champion Breweries Plc lost N0.20 (-5.00%), falling from N4.00 to N3.80.
Most traded stocks (by volume and value)
- Lafarge Africa Plc led trading with 4.47 billion shares, valued at N330.15 billion.
- Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc recorded 607.06 million shares, worth N607.08 million.
- Cutix Plc traded 358.33 million shares, amounting to N860.04 million.
- Fidelity Bank Plc saw 61.86 million shares exchanged, valued at N1.18 billion.
- Access Holdings Plc had 43.79 million shares traded, worth N973.75 million.
Naira depreciates as foreign exchange outflows increase
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the uncertainty of the ongoing tariff war between the United States and some countries has caused the exit of foreign exchange from Nigeria, leading to a two-week depreciation of the naira.
The development prompted the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to intervene in the FX market last week, selling about $500 million to boost supplies.
Data from the CBN shows that forex outflows grew by 78% in January this year, leading to an N45.45 billion outflow in dollar terms.
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Source: Legit.ng
