Investors Lose N720bn in Midweek Sell-Offs

Investors at the Nigerian Exchange Group lost N720 billion on Wednesday, the third consecutive day of bearish activity on the exchange.

The Exchange has now lost a combined N1.54 trillion in the last three days.

On Wednesday, the All-Share Index plummeted by 1.31% to 99,302.37 points while market capitalization dropped to N54.32 trillion. This downward spiral brought the year-to-date returns to 32.80%.

Market breadth remained negative with only five gainers compared to 52 decliners.

Notable gainers included PZ Cussons, Juli Plc, and Axa Mansard, while FCMB Group, Lafarge Africa, and Nigerian Breweries led the decliners with losses of 10% each.

Bearish sentiments spread across various sectors, particularly Banking, Insurance, and Consumer Goods, experiencing declines of 6.90%, 3.72%, and 1.20%, respectively.

The negative trend was fueled by sell-offs in prominent stocks like Sterling Financial Holdings, Wema Bank, and AccessCorp.

Despite improved trading volume and total deals, which rose by 41.28% and 15.40% respectively, the total traded value fell by 4.80% to N5.83 billion.

Transcorp Plc emerged as the most traded security by volume, while Zenith Bank led in traded value at N1 billion, indicating mixed sentiments among investors amidst market uncertainties.