Nigeria’s domestic market key index dips by 1.89 percent

Chiamaka Okechukwu

On Feb 1, 2024

Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Group Limited, NGX, ended bearish on Wednesday as the market experienced its highest single-day loss in January.

Investors lost N1.07 trillion on Wednesday as the sell-offs dragged that market to its third decline this year after enjoying a bullish trend for the better part of the month.

On the last trading day of the month, the market capitalisation and All-Share Index depreciated by 1.89 percent to close at N55.357 tillion and 101,154.45 basis points, lower than Tuesday’s N56.43 trillion.

Profit taking activities were recorded in stocks led by Tripple G at 9.97 percent per share, PZ Cussons at 9.97 percent and Geregu Power at 9.69 per cent, which maintained its stay on the gainers chart for the second day after announcing a N20bn dividend for the 2023 financial year.

On the flipside, the losers chart were led by May&Baker, Royal Exchange and Sterling Financial Holding Company Plc, which shed 10 per cent each on its respective share prices.

The volume and value drivers of the day’s market trend were led by stocks of Transcorp Plc, United Bank for Africa and Geregu.

However, the volume of equities traded for the day was higher at 749.13 million units of shares, compared to the previous day’s volume of 648.95 million units valued at N22.49bn from 14,288 deals.

The Vice Chairman of Highcap Securities, David Adonri, while reacting on the market performance said investors were taking profits despite the losses.

“Essentially, the investors that are left in the market are institutional investors who are investing for the long term. So they are not bothered about the short-term volatility of the market.”