Equities market declines as profit-taking wipes off ₦457bn

The Nigerian equities market on Thursday reversed gains recorded in the previous session, as investors lost about ₦457 billion following widespread profit-taking.

The decline came after 23 consecutive bullish trading sessions and was largely driven by sell-offs in stocks such as McNicholas, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Ikeja Hotel, FTN Cocoa Processors, Neimeth International Pharmaceutical and several others.

Specifically, the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) fell by ₦457 billion, or 0.43 per cent, from an opening value of ₦106.780 trillion to close at ₦106.323 trillion.

Similarly, the All-Share Index declined by 714.66 points, or 0.43 per cent, to close at 166,057.29, compared with 166,771.95 recorded in the previous session.

Market breadth closed negative, with 41 decliners against 36 advancers.

On the losers’ chart, McNicholas led with a 9.99 per cent drop to ₦6.58, followed by Caverton Offshore Support Group, which declined by 9.47 per cent to ₦7.65. Ikeja Hotel fell by 9.43 per cent to close at ₦35.05 per share.

FTN Cocoa Processors shed 9.38 per cent to ₦7.05, while Neimeth International Pharmaceutical lost 8.91 per cent to close at ₦9.20 per share.

On the gainers’ side, Nestlé Nigeria topped the chart with a 10 per cent increase to ₦2,153.80. NCR Nigeria followed with a 9.97 per cent rise to ₦116.90, while Jaiz Bank advanced by 9.92 per cent to ₦8.20 per share.

Morison Industries gained 9.90 per cent to ₦5.66, and Mecure Industries rose by 9.84 per cent to close at ₦97.70 per share.

Trading activity showed mixed performance, with a total of 1.03 billion shares valued at ₦31.6 billion exchanged in 51,227 deals. This compares with 761.9 million shares worth ₦29.9 billion traded in 55,751 transactions in the previous session.

The data indicated a 36 per cent increase in trading volume, a six per cent rise in value, and an eight per cent decline in the number of deals.

Zenith Bank recorded the highest value of trades at ₦5.03 billion, accounting for 15.92 per cent of the total value traded. Access Corporation and Zenith Bank led in volume, contributing 7.58 per cent and 7.00 per cent of total shares traded, respectively.

Commenting on the market performance, Vice President of Highcap Securities, Mr David Adonri, said the pullback was expected after an extended rally.

He explained that the market appeared fatigued after weeks of sustained gains, prompting investors to rebalance their portfolios ahead of the earnings season.

According to him, the correction is a normal market development, adding that the equities market is expected to regain momentum as corporate earnings disclosures commence.