Nigeria’s equities market pulled back on Tuesday as investors seized opportunities to lock in profits from the recent rally. The market closed lower by 1.46 percent, signalling a shift in sentiment after weeks of bullish momentum.
The year-to-date return fell to 38.56 percent, dragged by industrial, insurance, banking, and oil and gas counters, even as consumer goods stocks witnessed some bargain-hunting.
Dangote Cement emerged as the biggest weight on the market after its share price dropped sharply from N577 to N520, representing a loss of N57 or 9.88 percent. Royal Exchange also slipped from N2.80 to N2.52, down by 28 kobo or 10 percent, while Lasaco declined from N3.99 to N3.60, shedding 39 kobo or 9.77 percent. Universal Insurance, AIICO and Mutual Benefit dominated trading volumes.
At the close of business, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) slid from the previous day’s peak of 144,722.47 points to 142,613.47 points, while market capitalisation fell from N91.561 trillion to N90.227 trillion. Investors traded 1,027,469,686 shares valued at N17.664 billion across 34,352 deals.
Analysts at Vetiva Research projected that risk-off sentiment would likely persist in the near term, with profit-taking in large capitalisation stocks expected to spill into the mid- and small-cap segments. However, they added that such corrections could open up favourable entry points for investors looking to re-enter fundamentally strong equities at cheaper prices.
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