The Nigerian Exchange declined by 0.40% on Monday following the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) figures released by the country’s statistics bureau.
The All-Share Index closed at 104,663.34 points while the market capitalization stood at N59.18 trillion.
Investor sentiment turned bearish as concerns over rising inflation weighed on the market.
The National Bureau of Statistics reported that the inflation rate for February 2024 surged to 31.70%, up from 29.90% in the previous month and significantly higher than the 21.91% recorded in February 2023.
Notably, both food and core inflation indices increased, reaching 37.92% and 25.13%, respectively.
Analysts at Arthur Stevens Asset Management Limited attributed the bearish outing to sell-offs driven by fears of escalating inflationary pressures.
With projections indicating a continued upswing in inflation, exacerbated by the persistent depreciation of the naira against the dollar, investors opted to offload their holdings.
Despite the market downturn, trading activities saw a substantial increase, with the number of deals rising by 40.58% to 9,077.
Volume traded surged by 32.34% to 287.45 million shares, while the value of traded shares jumped by 115.75% to N10.8 billion.
While the market sentiment remained positive, with gainers outnumbering losers, banking stocks dominated trading activities in terms of volume, led by United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Holding Company, Zenith Bank, FBN Holdings, and AccessCorp.
However, notable losers included McNichos, Daar Communications, and real estate firm UPDC, with declines ranging from -7.89% to -9.30%.
