Nigerian equities market kicked off the week on a sour note as a wave of selloffs dragged the market into negative territory on Monday, erasing N197 billion in investor wealth in what traders described as an unexpected turnaround.
The sharp drop wiped out the gains posted in the previous trading session, with market sentiment flipping almost instantly as profit-takers dominated the day’s action.
Heavy dumping of shares in International Breweries, RT Briscoe, Cornerstone Insurance, Daar Communications and Regency Alliance Insurance anchored the decline, pulling major indicators down.
By the close of trade, the market capitalisation had slipped from N91.286 trillion to N91.089 trillion — a 0.22 per cent contraction. The All-Share Index mirrored the slide, shedding 310.20 points to settle at 143,210.33, down from Friday’s 143,520.53.
The year-to-date return eased to 39.14 per cent, while market breadth leaned negative, closing with 26 decliners against 20 gainers.
International Breweries led the laggards after plunging 10 per cent to N10.35. RT Briscoe followed with a 9.88 per cent fall to N3.10. Cornerstone Insurance dipped 7.83 per cent to N5.53, Daar Communications slumped 6.52 per cent to 86k, and Regency Alliance Insurance closed 4.81 per cent lower at 99k as bearish sentiment spread across several mid- and low-cap stocks.
On the brighter side, a few gainers managed to buck the trend. NCR Nigeria emerged top performer with a 9.97 per cent jump to N60.10. Sunu Assurances advanced 9.18 per cent to N4.28, while Champion Breweries gained 8.11 per cent to finish at N14. Mecure added 7.58 per cent to close at N29.80 and Guinea Insurance climbed 7.27 per cent to N1.18 as investors rotated into select bargain stocks.
Trading activity presented a mixed picture: although the number of deals rose, both traded value and share volume fell compared to Friday’s stronger outing.
In total, the market recorded 1.47 billion shares worth N18.7 billion across 28,956 transactions. Wema Bank dominated the session, leading both in volume and value with 113.25 million shares valued at N2.07 billion.
