Investors dumped stocks on Friday, wiping N1.226 trillion off the Nigerian equities market as profit-taking spread across major counters.
Market capitalisation fell to N160.443 trillion from N161.669 trillion the day before, a decline of 0.76 per cent. The All-Share Index dropped 1,912.19 points to close at 250,330.92, down from 252,243.11 on Thursday. Despite the pullback, the year-to-date gain still stands at 60.87 per cent, showing the market remains substantially up for 2024.
The selling pressure hit stocks like Zichis Agro Allied Industries, FTN Cocoa Processors, The Initiates, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank and International Energy Insurance hardest. Zichis Agro slid 9.97 per cent to N29.43 per share, while FTN Cocoa lost 9.95 per cent to N8.96. The Initiates dropped 9.90 per cent to N32.30, and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank fell 9.88 per cent to N3.83. International Energy Insurance dipped 9.71 per cent to N2.79.
Not everything moved downward. May & Baker Nigeria and ABC Transport led gainers with 10 per cent jumps each, closing at N47.30 and N6.27 respectively. SCOA Nigeria climbed 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express rose 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications appreciated 9.76 per cent to N2.25. The market breadth remained positive overall with 47 gainers against 28 losers.
Trading activity actually picked up, with investors exchanging 1.08 billion shares worth N44.29 billion across 65,744 deals, a 4.28 per cent increase in volume from the previous session. CHAMS Holding Company dominated turnover with 328.50 million shares, or 30.30 per cent of total volume. Aradel Holdings recorded the highest value traded at N9.44 billion, representing 21.32 per cent of total value.
Analysts expect the profit-taking trend to persist next week as investors lock in gains from the strong year-to-date rally.
