Equities investors lose N40.37bn as tier-1 banks drag NGX market downward

BY TEMITOPE ADEBAYO

Equities investors faced a N40.37 billion setback yesterday as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 7 basis points, closing at 95,831.51 points.

The downturn was largely driven by underperformance in Tier-1 banks, including GTCO (-0.66 per cent), FBNH (-1.21 per cent), and UBA (-1.79 per cent), which overshadowed gains from other key stocks.

Despite the slight decline, market capitalization increased by N599.43 billion, reaching N55.05 trillion, while the year-to-date (YTD) return softened to 28.16 per cent.

Trading activity also showed a decline, with the value of transactions down by 5.66 per cent.

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A total of 360.56 million shares, significantly lower than the previous session’s 1.01 billion, were traded across 8,813 deals, amounting to N7.25 billion. OANDO (-8.66 per cent) led both the volume and value charts, with 66.23 million shares traded in deals worth N2.69 billion.

The market breadth remained positive, closing with a 1.39-to-1 ratio, as 25 stocks advanced while 18 declined. IKEJAHOTEL (+10.00 per cent) topped the gainers, while UPL (-9.40 per cent) led the list of laggards.