The equities market opened the week in the red on Monday, shedding N197 billion in investor value after what traders called “a sharp reversal”.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the drop erased gains from the previous session. The market turned quickly as sell pressure intensified.
Heavy selloffs in International Breweries, RT Briscoe, Cornerstone Insurance, Daar Communications and Regency Alliance Insurance weakened overall performance.
Market capitalisation fell from N91.286 trillion to N91.089 trillion, representing a 0.22 per cent decline at the close of trading.
The All-Share Index also dropped by 0.22 per cent, sliding by 310.20 points to finish at 143,210.33, down from Friday’s 143,520.53.
Year-to-date return moderated to 39.14 per cent. Market breadth also closed negative, with 26 losers against 20 gainers.
International Breweries topped the losers’ chart, falling by 10 per cent to N10.35. RT Briscoe dipped 9.88 per cent to N3.10 at the close.
Cornerstone Insurance declined by 7.83 per cent to N5.53, while Daar Communications fell by 6.52 per cent to 86k at the end of trade.
Regency Alliance Insurance slid by 4.81 per cent, closing at 99k per share as weak sentiment persisted across key counters.
On the gainers’ side, NCR Nigeria rose by 9.97 per cent to N60.10. Sunu Assurances advanced 9.18 per cent to finish the day at N4.28.
Champion Breweries appreciated by 8.11 per cent to N14, while Mecure gained 7.58 per cent to end trading at N29.80 per share.
Guinea Insurance also climbed by 7.27 per cent, closing at N1.18 as investors moved into select low-priced stocks.
Market activity showed mixed performance, with deal volume rising but value and share volume declining from the previous session.
A total of 1.47 billion shares worth N18.7 billion were traded across 28,956 deals, lower than Friday’s stronger turnover.
Wema Bank posted the highest volume and value, trading 113.25 million shares valued at N2.07 billion during the session.
NAN
