The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) closed Tuesday's trading session with a significant loss, as the market capitalisation dropped by N468.63 billion to settle at N163.53 trillion, down from N163.999 trillion recorded in the previous session. The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) also declined by 721.91 points to close at 251,913.20 points, compared with 252,635.11 points at the start of the day.
Sectoral Performance: Banking and Industrial Stocks Drag Market Down
The NGX Banking Index led the decline, falling by 0.91%, while the NGX Industrial Index also dropped by 0.91%. The NGX Consumer Goods Index followed with a 0.83% loss. In contrast, the NGX Insurance Index rose by 0.38%, and the NGX Growth Index gained 0.87%. The NGX Oil & Gas Index was broadly flat, edging up slightly to 6,244.49 points.
Top Losers and Gainers on the NGX
Among the top losers, Sovereign Trust Insurance fell by 9.92% to close at N2.36, while Unilever Nigeria declined by 8.55% to N100.50. Neimeth Pharmaceutical dropped by 6.02% to N7.80, University Press lost 6%, and International Breweries declined by 5.45% to N9.55.
On the gainers' side, NPF Microfinance Bank rose by 10% to N4.40, and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank gained 10% to N2.86. Coronation Insurance increased by 9.95%, Wapic Insurance rose by 9.95% to N2.43, and VFD Group advanced by 9.84% to N13.40.
Trading Activity and Most Active Stocks
Trading activity declined during the session, with investors exchanging 548.65 million shares in 47,203 deals, compared with 1.024 billion shares traded in 61,661 deals in the previous session. GTCO led the most active stocks with 88.73 million shares traded, followed by UBA with 48.84 million shares. Fidelity Bank recorded 45.64 million shares, Access Holdings traded 41.81 million shares, Zenith Bank recorded 34.21 million shares, and Chams Holding Company recorded 29.69 million shares.
According to Legit.ng, the market's negative performance was driven by sell-offs in banking, industrial goods, and consumer goods stocks, while insurance and growth stocks managed to buck the trend.
