Nigerian Exchange Reverses Gains, Loses N1.17 Trillion Amid Sell-offs

Nigeria's stock market experienced a downturn on Tuesday, reversing its recent bullish trend and shedding a substantial 1.166 trillion naira in market capitalization. This decline was primarily driven by sell-offs in several key stocks, impacting the overall market performance.

The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) equities market saw its market capitalization fall by 0.73 percent, moving from 160.421 trillion naira to 159.255 trillion naira. Concurrently, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 1,806.18 points, closing at 246,723.57. The market's year-to-date return also saw a dip, despite the number of advancing stocks (28) slightly outnumbering the decliners (27).

Several companies experienced significant drops. Thomas Wyatt Nigeria led the losers, with a 9.97 percent decline. AVA Capital followed, falling 9.60 percent. International Energy Insurance, International Breweries, and Guinea Insurance also recorded notable losses. On the brighter side, UPDCREIT topped the gainers' chart with a 10 percent increase, followed by FTN Cocoa Processors and C&I Leasing.

Trading activity saw a surge in volume, with 3.909 billion shares valued at 32.38 billion naira exchanged in 45,608 deals. This was a significant increase compared to the previous day's trading. Fortis Global Insurance was the most traded stock, accounting for a substantial portion of the total volume and value traded.