Stockholders suffer N478bn loss as Nigerian share market slump continues

The Nigerian equities market suffered a significant decline on Tuesday, with a total loss of N478 billion due to widespread profit-taking in prominent stocks.

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This downturn was primarily driven by substantial losses incurred by large- and mid-cap stocks, notably PZ Cussons, Computer Warehouse Group, ABC Transport, Wema Bank, Sovereign Trust Insurance, and 33 other stocks that experienced notable declines.

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Market capitalisation plummeted from an initial value of N158.697 trillion to a closing value of N158.219 trillion, marking a substantial erosion of wealth.

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The All-Share Index also experienced a sharp decline, falling by 874 points or 0.35 per cent to close at 246,686.66, down from its previous close of 247,560.66.

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As a result, the market's Year-to-Date return moderated to 58.53 per cent, while the market breadth ended the day in negative territory with 38 losers outweighing 14 gainers.

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PZ Cussons and Computer Warehouse Group emerged as the top losers, each declining by 10 per cent to settle at N88.20 and N21.60 per share, respectively.

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ABC Transport also experienced a significant decline, shedding 9.95 per cent to close at N6.88, while Wema Bank dipped 9.09 per cent to finish at N30, and Sovereign Trust Insurance dropped 8.16 per cent to end the session at N2.70 per share.

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On the other hand, International Energy Insurance led the gainers' chart with a 9.86 per cent increase, closing at N5.46, followed by Trans-Nationwide Express, which trailed with a 7.14 per cent gain to finish at N5.10.

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Neimeth Pharmaceuticals also gained 6.80 per cent to close at N11 per share, while Livingtrust Mortgage Bank advanced by 5 per cent to close at N4.20, and Abbey Mortgage Bank increased by 4.44 per cent to settle at N7.05 per share.

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The overall market activity witnessed a decline in volume, value, and deals, with 718.8 million shares valued at N29.3 billion traded across 71,683 transactions.

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This represents a significant decrease from the previous session, which saw 1.127 billion shares worth N44.3 billion traded in 91,880 deals.

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Access Corporation led the trading activity by volume, with 113.10 million shares exchanged, accounting for 10.03 per cent of the total volume traded during the day.

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Meanwhile, Zenith Bank emerged as the most actively traded stock by value, recording transactions worth N4.81 billion, which accounted for 10.85 per cent of the day's total market turnover.