The bears maintained control over the Nigerian stock market as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) recorded losses for the second consecutive session, declining by 0.12% to settle at 55,956.59 points.
The market’s weak performance was driven by selling pressure in major industrial players such as Dangote Cement (DANGCEM -1.38%), STANBIC (-3.02%), and Nigerian Breweries (NB -1.80%), which outweighed the gains made by MTN Nigeria (MTNN +0.04%), Zenith Bank (ZENITHBANK +0.18%), and Guaranty Trust Bank (GTCO +0.36%).
As a result, the market is poised to record another weekly loss. The year-to-date (YTD) return of the ASI decreased to 9.18%, and the market capitalization declined by ₦37.57 billion, closing at ₦30.47 trillion.
An analysis of Thursday’s market activities revealed a higher trade turnover compared to the previous session, with the value of transactions increasing by 17.52%. A total of 531.78 million shares valued at ₦7.68 billion were traded in 6,061 deals. United Bank for Africa (UBA +4.19%) led the volume and value charts with 177.48 million units traded, worth ₦1.72 billion.
Market breadth closed positive, with advancing issues outnumbering declining ones at a ratio of 2.46-to-1. UNITYBNK (+10.00%) emerged as the top gainer among twenty-six others, while WAPIC (-6.52%) led the list of ten decliners.
