Investors on the Nigerian Stock Exchange experienced a decline of N37 billion in the domestic equity market, primarily due to sell-offs in Tier One banking stocks on Friday. The market capitalization at the NGX started at N56.615 trillion but fell by N37 billion, or 0.07 percent, to close at N56.578 trillion. 

The All-Share Index (ASI) also saw a decrease of 0.07 percent, equivalent to 65 points, finishing the day at 98,458.68 points, down from 98,523.56 points. Consequently, the year-to-date return has dropped by 31.68 percent. 

Sell pressure from stocks such as Zenith Bank, FBN Holdings, FCMB Group, International Breweries, and Unilever contributed to the market's downturn. The market breadth ended negatively, with 26 stocks losing value compared to 21 gainers. 

Caverton topped the losers' list, falling by 9.76 percent to close at N2.68, followed closely by Northern Nigeria Flour Mills, which declined by 9.50 percent to N31.90 per share. UPL decreased by 8.85 percent to N2.37, McNichols fell by 8.57 percent to N1.60, and International Breweries lost 6.96 percent, closing at N4.01 per share. 

On the other hand, Beta Glas led the gainers, rising by 10 percent to N48.96, while Meyer Plc increased by 9.93 percent to N7.75 per share. Deep Capital Management and Trust Plc gained 9.90 percent to close at N1.11, and Ellah Lakes Plc rose by 9.82 percent to N4.92 per share. Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc also saw a rise of 9.65 percent, closing at N2.50 per share. 

Further analysis indicated that trade turnover was higher compared to the previous session, with transaction values increasing by 0.72 percent. A total of 797.21 million shares worth N6.66 billion were traded across 7,764 deals, compared to 344.36 million shares valued at N6.61 billion in 9,005 deals on Thursday. Japaul Gold led in both volume and value, with 591.19 million shares traded for N1.47 billion.