In yet another day of bearish activity, the Nigerian stock market dipped as the All-Share Index fell to 97,978.02 basis points.
The decline, underpinned by losses recorded in key stocks such as Skyway Aviation Handling, NEM Insurance, and others, amounted to a loss of N84 billion in market capitalization.
The trading session saw the prevalence of bearish sentiment with more decliners (28) than gainers (17) on the Nigerian Exchange.
Skyway Aviation Handling led the pack of losers, experiencing a significant 9.80% decline to close at N20.70 per share. Following closely, NEM Insurance stocks shed 9.47% to close at N7.65, while FTNCocoa lost 9.35% to close at N1.26 per share.
The overall market performance reflected a 0.15% decrease, with the market capitalization also declining by 0.15% to N55.424 trillion.
Despite the downward trend, there was a marginal increase in the number of deals, growing by 6.35% to 7,852, while the trading volume surged by 16.5% to 316.453 million traded shares.
United Bank for Africa (UBA) led the volume chart with 50,316,438 units traded in 788 deals, while Julius Berger emerged as the most traded security by value, amounting to N1.47 billion in 303 deals.
Sectoral performance varied, with three out of five sectors ending in the red zone. The banking sector fell by 1.42%, while the consumer goods sector experienced a slight decline of 0.05%.
However, the oil and gas sector managed to gain 0.72%, and the industrial goods sector remained unchanged.
The recent downturn in the Nigerian stock market follows a series of losses, indicating sustained bearish sentiment among investors.
Concerns over inflation, energy prices, and exchange rate instability continue to weigh on market sentiment, prompting cautious trading activities.
While some sectors managed to record gains, overall market performance remains subdued, reflecting the prevailing economic challenges.
Investors are closely monitoring developments in both local and global markets for signals of potential market recovery or further downturns.