The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed Thursday’s trading session in negative territory, snapping a three-day winning streak as investors locked in profits on large-cap stocks. The sell-off erased ₦308 billion from the market’s value in a single session.
At the close of trading, the All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 0.39%, losing 478.64 points to settle at 120,779.05. Market capitalisation dropped from ₦76.81 trillion on Wednesday to ₦76.5 trillion. Despite Thursday’s dip, the broader market remains in positive territory for the week, with a 2.48% gain, and has climbed 9.91% over the past four weeks. The year-to-date return stands at 17.35%, underlining resilient underlying investor sentiment despite periodic corrections.
Market activity delivered a mixed picture. Investors exchanged 892.97 million shares valued at ₦18.23 billion across 25,375 deals. This represented a 4% increase in trading volume compared to Wednesday’s session, even as turnover declined by 30% and the number of deals rose by 11%.
Of the 128 equities traded, 33 closed in positive territory while 38 posted losses, reflecting broad-based profit-taking pressure across the board.
On the gainers’ chart, Skye Shelter Fund led with a 10% increase, closing at ₦249.25 per share. Unilever Nigeria also rose 10% to finish at ₦51.70. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals advanced by 9.98% to ₦5.40, while UAC of Nigeria gained 9.97%, ending at ₦38.05 per share.
Conversely, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria topped the losers’ list with a 10% decline to ₦2.07. Nigerian Aviation Handling Company dropped 9.99% to ₦91.00, while Oando Plc fell 9.96% to ₦61.90. Associated Bus Company shed 8.92% to close at ₦2.45.
Volume-wise, Ellah Lakes led trading activity with 113 million shares exchanged. Access Holdings followed with 76.2 million shares traded, while Caverton Offshore Support Group recorded 64.9 million shares. Japaul Gold and Ventures rounded out the top turnover stocks with 61.6 million shares traded.
Sectoral performance was similarly mixed. The Industrial Index gained 2.11%, buoyed by buying interest in key manufacturing and industrial stocks. The Insurance Index also advanced, rising 1.08%. However, major benchmarks declined: the NGX 30 Index fell 0.4%, the Pension Index dipped 0.26%, the Premium Index slipped 0.29%, and the Main Board Index lost 0.45%.
Market analysts at Afrinvest warned that Thursday’s sell-off could signal a near-term shift toward sustained bearishness driven by further profit-taking.
The decline followed a strong performance on Wednesday, when the market added ₦1.18 trillion in value on the back of investor optimism and robust corporate earnings, notably from energy giant Oando Plc.
While Thursday’s correction underscores the caution of investors locking in recent gains, analysts note the NGX’s underlying fundamentals remain broadly supportive, with corporate earnings and sectoral resilience continuing to attract interest in Africa’s largest economy.