In a day marked by losses in the equities of several medium-cap companies, the Nigerian Exchange Limited lost N259 billion in market capitalization.
BUA Cement led the loser’s chart with a 10% decline in share value to close at N93.60 per unit from N104 it settled the previous session.
Other impacted stocks contributing to the market downturn included Dangote Sugar (-0.43%), Lafarge (-0.17%), Oando Plc (-2.12%), Fidson (-3.53%), NGX Group (-0.68%), Zenith Bank (-0.43%), and United Bank for Africa (-0.23%).
The overall market capitalization and All-Share Index saw a 0.66% decrease to N38.823 trillion and 70,946.83, respectively as the year-to-date returns dipped to 38.43%.
Despite the overall decline, positive market sentiments persisted, resulting in 33 gainers and 26 losers.
The top gainer was the paper company, Thomas Wyatt, gaining 10% and closing at N2.75 per unit.
First Bank of Nigeria Holdings and Daar Communications also made significant gains, closing at N24.35 per unit (up 9.93%) and N0.34 (up 9.68%), respectively.
On the losing side, BUA Cement’s 10% decline was followed by McNichols, down 9.33%, and Computer Warehouse Group, which lost 7.50%.
The real estate firm, UPDC, also dipped by 7.14%, closing at N1.17.
Volume drivers for the day included Universal Insurance, Transnational Corporation, Airtel Africa, and GTCO.
Three out of five sectors tracked closed in the red zone, with the Insurance, Oil/Gas, and Industrial Goods indexes recording losses while Banking and Consumer Goods sectors saw slight advances.
Cowry Asset Management Limited researchers anticipate a dynamic week for investors as they navigate potential profit-taking and corrections amid global events, fixed-income yields, and Central Bank of Nigeria policies.