The Nigerian equities market reversed Monday’s gains on Tuesday as investors booked profits in major stocks, including First HoldCo and GTCO, while a disappointing half-year performance from Nestlé Nigeria Plc triggered a sell-off.
The decline wiped approximately N598.83 billion off the market capitalisation, despite a significant rise in trading volume.
The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 0.38 per cent to close at 244,802.83 points from 245,730.53 points recorded in the previous session.
Market capitalisation also dropped to N158.02 trillion, representing a loss of about N599 billion.
The market’s year-to-date return moderated to 57.32 per cent, while the month-to-date performance slipped into negative territory at -0.2 per cent, reflecting renewed selling pressure across banking and consumer goods stocks.
Market Summary:
- All-Share Index: 244,802.83 points, down 0.38%
- Market capitalisation: N158.02 trillion, down 0.38%
- Market capitalisation loss: Approximately N599 billion
- Year-to-date return: +57.32%
- Month-to-date return: -0.2%
- Trading volume: 1.56 billion shares, up 69.25%
- Market turnover: N28.73 billion, down 24.09%
- Total deals: 54,160, down 25.34%
- Market breadth: 13 gainers and 40 losers
Tuesday’s decline was driven mainly by renewed profit-taking in heavyweight banking and consumer goods stocks.
Nestlé Nigeria fell by 2.8 per cent, First HoldCo declined by 3 per cent, UBA dropped 2.2 per cent, while GTCO lost 0.8 per cent, contributing significantly to the pressure on the benchmark index.
Market sentiment remained negative, with only 13 stocks recording gains against 40 decliners, indicating widespread selling across several sectors.
The Banking Index emerged as the worst-performing sector, declining by 1.27 per cent.
The Consumer Goods Index followed with a 1.25 per cent drop, while the Insurance Index declined by 1.11 per cent.
However, the Oil & Gas Index recorded a marginal gain of 0.05 per cent, while the Commodity Index increased by 0.01 per cent. The Industrial Goods Index closed unchanged.
Despite the bearish market close, trading activity improved significantly.
Total volume traded increased by 69.25 per cent to 1.56 billion shares, although the value of transactions declined by 24.09 per cent to N28.73 billion.
The divergence suggests that trading activity was concentrated mainly in lower-priced stocks rather than major blue-chip counters.
Japaul Gold & Ventures dominated trading volume with 904.42 million shares worth N2.72 billion, accounting for more than half of the total volume traded.
Other actively traded stocks by volume included Sterling Financial Holdings, FCMB Group, Chams Holding Company and Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals.
By value, MTN Nigeria led the market with shares worth about N3.25 billion exchanged, reflecting continued investor interest in the telecommunications company despite broader market weakness.
Among the top gainers, AVA Capital rose by 9.94 per cent to N9.95, Livestock Feeds gained 9.71 per cent to N113.00, Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals increased by 8.43 per cent to N9.00, AIICO Insurance advanced 3.47 per cent to N4.18, while Oando gained 3.30 per cent to N36.00.
The biggest losers were Multiverse Mining & Exploration, which declined by 10 per cent to N22.95; LivingTrust Mortgage Bank, down 10 per cent to N3.42; McNichols, down 9.92 per cent to N5.45; Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, down 9.87 per cent to N3.56; and Eterna, which fell 9.09 per cent to N33.00.
Analysts said Tuesday’s performance reflected temporary profit-taking following recent gains in major banking and consumer goods stocks.
The increase in trading volume alongside lower transaction value suggests investors were more active in relatively cheaper stocks rather than accumulating large-cap equities.
Market participants are expected to closely monitor the ongoing release of half-year corporate earnings for fresh investment signals.
Analysts at Cowry Asset Management projected that the market could regain positive momentum as more companies publish their H1 2026 financial results, with stronger earnings expected to attract renewed buying interest.
