Wednesday’s trading session on the Nigerian Exchange marked the third consecutive day of bearish trends, causing a significant loss of N720 billion to investors.
The persistent sell-offs have now accumulated to a staggering N1.54 trillion loss over the past three days.
The All-Share Index and market capitalization took a hit, depreciating by 1.31 percent to 99,302.37 points and N54.32 trillion, respectively. Year-to-date returns also plummeted to 32.80 percent, reflecting the prevailing negative sentiment among investors.
Market breadth remained negative, with only five gainers compared to 52 decliners. PZ Cussons led the gainers, closing at N29.15 after a 10 percent increase. Juli Plc and Axa Mansard also saw gains of 9.93 percent and 1.53 percent, respectively.
Investors That Lost In the Nigerian Exchange Market
However, FCMB Group, Lafarge Africa, and Nigerian Breweries faced substantial losses of 10 percent each, resulting in share prices dropping to N7.20, N31.95, and N30.60, respectively.
Sell-offs were particularly prevalent in the Banking, Insurance, and Consumer
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Goods sectors, with declines of 6.90 percent, 3.72 percent, and 1.20 percent, respectively. Stocks such as Sterling Financial Holdings, Wema Bank, and NEM Insurance were among those witnessing significant sell-sentiments.
The Industrial Goods index also saw a decline of 0.41 percent, mainly due to negative price movements in Lafarge Africa and CUTIX. However, the Oil & Gas index remained relatively stable.
Positive Aspects In Nigerian Exchange Market
Despite the overall bearish sentiment, there were some positive aspects to the trading session. Total deals and traded volume saw improvements, rising by 15.40 percent and 41.28 percent, respectively, to 10,549 deals and 396.23 million units. However, the total traded value declined by 4.80 percent to N5.83 billion.
Transcorp Plc emerged as the most traded security by volume, with 52.57 million units exchanged in 507 deals, while Zenith Bank led in traded value at N1 billion.
Analyst Comment On the Exchange Market
Commenting on the market performance, a financial analyst stated, “The persistent sell-offs reflect the cautious stance of investors amid lingering economic uncertainties. While some stocks saw marginal gains, the overall sentiment remains bearish, driven by concerns over inflation, currency volatility, and global economic conditions.”
The analyst further added, “Investors are advised to remain vigilant and focus on fundamentally sound stocks with long-term growth potential, while also diversifying their portfolios to mitigate risks.”
As the market continues to navigate through challenging times, stakeholders are closely monitoring developments both domestically and globally, with hopes for a turnaround in investor sentiment shortly.