The Nigerian equities market reversed gains on Tuesday, as profit-taking in heavyweight stocks dragged market capitalisation down by N326 billion.
Figures from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) showed that the market capitalisation closed at N89.198 trillion, compared to N89.524 trillion at the previous session.
Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) lost 568.62 points, or 0.4 per cent, to settle at 140,929.60 from 141,498.22 posted on Monday.
The negative outing was driven by selloffs in Dangote Sugar, Wema Bank, Secure Electronic Technology, Access Corporation, Aradel Holdings, and 30 other stocks.
Market breadth closed weak, with 35 losers outpacing 16 gainers.
Dangote Sugar led the laggards’ chart, shedding 10 per cent to close at N54 per share. Wema Bank declined by 8.27 per cent to N18.85, while Secure Electronic Technology dropped 6.25 per cent to 75k.
Access Corporation fell 4.98 per cent to N24.80, and Aradel Holdings slipped 4.76 per cent to N560.
On the positive side, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria gained 9.80 per cent to close at N2.80, Chellaram rose 9.59 per cent to N16, RT Briscoe advanced 9.50 per cent to N3.29, while Custodian Investment added 9.40 per cent to finish at N48.30. NGX Group also climbed 6.99 per cent to N58.95 per share.
Despite the market decline, trading activity strengthened. Investors exchanged 759.1 million shares worth N25.7 billion in 23,657 deals, higher in volume and value compared to 488.5 million shares worth N13.7 billion in 28,621 deals on Monday.
Consolidated Hallmark Holdings led the activity chart with 169.6 million shares valued at N644.7 million. It was followed by Zenith Bank, which traded 104.4 million shares worth N6.9 billion, and FirstHoldCo, which recorded 100.9 million shares valued at N3.2 billion.
Others were Fidelity Bank, with 52.5 million shares worth N1.1 billion, and GTCO, which posted 45 million shares valued at N4.1 billion.
