The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) faced a challenging start to the year, witnessing a decline in market capitalization, causing concerns among investors. At the close of trading on Wednesday, market capitalization plummeted by approximately N638 billion, settling at N44.885 trillion, just a day after surpassing the N45 trillion mark.
Despite the All-Share Index maintaining a position above 80,000 points, it saw a 1,167.46 point or 1.40% drop, concluding at 82,024.38 on Wednesday.
The banking sector felt the impact of this depreciation, with most stocks experiencing losses, excluding Jaiz Bank, which defied the trend, appreciating by 5.40% to N2.93, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings, which remained unchanged.
Notably, Access Holdings Plc and First Bank of Nigeria Holdings saw their market capitalizations fall below N1 trillion, a day after surpassing this milestone, ending the session at N989 billion and N926 billion, respectively.
The decline in the stock market followed the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) interrogating Managing Directors of certain banks regarding a fraud discovery at the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
Key contributors to the market movements were Transnational Corporation Plc, AccessCorp, United Bank for Africa, Jaiz Bank, and Zenith Bank. However, the Market Breadth, reflecting investor sentiment, was negative, with 13 gainers and 61 losers.
Among the gainers, Cadbury Plc led with a 9.92% increase, closing at N19.95 per unit. The consumer goods company recently proposed converting a N7.036 billion loan from its parent company, Cadbury Schweppes Overseas Limited, into equity to settle outstanding third-party loans.
Companies with gains also included VeritasKap (9.76% increase), Linkage Assurance (8.70% gain), Transcorp Hotel (7.24% increase), and Prestige Assurance (6% gain).
Conversely, companies experiencing losses, each with a 10% decrease, were Chams Holdings, Cornerstone Insurance, FTN Cocoa, May & Baker, Caverton, and Consolidated Hallmark Holding Plc, closing at N2.16, N1.80, N1.98, N5.49, N2.07, and N1.35 per unit, respectively.
Despite the market downturn, the transaction volume increased to 1,641.28 million units of shares, valued at N25.37 billion and traded in 20,223 deals, reflecting a notable increase from the previous day’s volume of 1,409.85 million units. The total number of stocks traded on Wednesday reached 123.
Ada Peter
