Nigeria’s equities market closed lower on Thursday with the All-Share Index (ASI) declining by 436.08 points or 0.40 percent to settle at 109,183.02 from the previous day’s high of 109,619.10.
The market capitalisation fell in tandem, shedding approximately ₦274 billion to close at ₦68.621 trillion, compared to ₦68.895 trillion recorded in the previous session.
The bearish performance was primarily influenced by losses in May & Baker, Chellaram, Linkage Assurance, and MCNichols, which featured prominently among the session’s top laggards.
Key Laggards
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May & Baker dropped from ₦13.05 to ₦11.75, representing a loss of ₦1.30 or 9.96%
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Chellaram mirrored the same decline, falling from ₦13.05 to ₦11.75, down ₦1.30 or 9.96%
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Linkage Assurance fell by 9.88%, from ₦1.62 to ₦1.46
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MCNichols lost 8.70%, declining from ₦2.30 to ₦2.10
Market Activity
Investor participation remained robust, with a total of 1.65 billion shares exchanged in 26,176 deals, valued at ₦19.10 billion. Despite the market downturn, several stocks witnessed strong trading activity.
Top traded stocks by volume included:
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Royal Exchange
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Fidelity Bank
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Japaul Gold
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UBA
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Tantalizers
These equities attracted significant interest, driven by sector-specific momentum and institutional positioning.
Market Outlook
The continued sell-off, particularly in the healthcare, industrial, and insurance segments, reflects investor rotation out of mid-tier stocks after recent rallies. Analysts attribute the current volatility to portfolio rebalancing, as well as profit-taking ahead of key macroeconomic disclosures and dividend qualification deadlines.
With market breadth still skewed towards the negative, traders are advised to maintain a cautious outlook while positioning in fundamentally sound equities with consistent earnings and strong dividend prospects.
The Nigerian Exchange will continue to react to both global risk sentiment and domestic economic developments, including interest rate direction, currency stability, and capital market reforms.
