The Nigerian equity market kicked off the week on a negative note, shedding N72bn in market capitalisation at the close of trading on Monday.

The market ended the day with a total value of N67.4tn, a slight dip from the previous trading day. A total of 511,100,383 shares were exchanged across 17,095 deals, representing a market turnover of N12.81bn, compared to Friday’s market data, which showed a 7 per cent improvement in volume but an 8 per cent decline in turnover.

The benchmark All-Share Index lost 116.21 points, or 0.11 per cent, ending the day at 107,937.74. Despite this decline, the index has posted a positive performance in recent weeks, recording a one-week gain of 1.93 per cent, a four-week gain of 5.44 per cent, and a year-to-date gain of 4.87 per cent.

In total, 128 equities participated in trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, with 20 stocks posting gains and 42 stocks ending the day in the red.

Leading the gainers was Nigerian Breweries Plc, which recorded an impressive 10 per cent appreciation in its share price, closing at N36.30 per share. The company’s performance in the market was followed by Cadbury Nigeria, which surged by 9.97 per cent, The Initiates, with a 9.88 per cent increase; and International Energy Insurance, which appreciated by 9.87 per cent.

On the losing side, Ikeja Hotel was the worst performer, losing 10 per cent of its value to close at N12.60 per share. It was closely followed by Learn Africa, which also saw a 10 per cent drop, and Cornerstone Insurance, which lost 9.8 per cent. Real estate giant UPDC also faced a significant decline of 9.79 per cent.

Access Holdings recorded the highest trading volume, with 144 million shares exchanged. Other notable performers in terms of volume were Aiico Insurance with 24.6 million shares, UPDC with 20.4 million shares, and Fidelity Bank, which saw 19.9 million shares traded.

Despite the overall market downturn, the market indices showed mixed performances. The Top 30 Index closed slightly lower by 0.06 per cent but showed a one-week gain of 2.28 per cent and a YTD gain of 5.21 per cent. The Consumer Goods Index rose by 1.35 per cent, though it still recorded a one-week decline of 2.43 per cent. The Industrial Index, on the other hand, added 0.12 per cent, marking a one-week gain of 10.4 per cent and a YTD gain of 1.93 per cent.

Indices such as the Premium Index and the Pension Index also performed positively in the longer term, with the Premium Index gaining 7.79 per cent over the past week and 9.95 per cent YTD, while the Pension Index gained 1.33 per cent over the past week and 9.64 per cent YTD.

The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian equity market recorded a gain of N1.83tn last week as the All-Share Index and Market Capitalisation appreciated by two per cent and 2.78 per cent to close at 108,053.95 points and N67.418tn, respectively.