Emmanuel OchayiThe Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) experienced a notable shift on Wednesday, marking its first bearish trading day in 2024.
The All-Share Index took a downturn, plummeting by 1.4% and closing at 82,024.38 points compared to the previous day’s 83,191.84 points.
This abrupt reversal follows a recent surge where the NGX soared by over 11% in just six trading days. However, this bullish trend came to an end as investors began to cash in their profits, leading to losses in 62 stocks as opposed to only 13 that saw gains.
In today’s trading session, equities encountered a decline of approximately N639 billion, causing the market capitalization to drop from N45.524 trillion to N44.885 trillion.
READ ALSO: NGX: Access Holdings, FBNH Join UBA In N1trn Market Cap Club
Although trading volume witnessed a notable uptick, rising by 16.3% to 1.64 billion units, and the trading value increased by 17% to N25.38 billion, these figures were overshadowed by the overall negative market sentiment.
The day’s market indices painted a picture of the downturn, with the NGX All-Share Index reaching a low of 81,413.08 points and a high of 83,234.64 points. Despite the year-to-date (YTD) performance still showing a positive 9.70%, the day’s performance has sparked concerns about the market’s stability.
Among the notable gainers were CADBURY (+9.92%), VERITASKAP (+9.76%), and LINKASSURE (+8.70%), while MAYBAKER (-10.00%), CHAMS (-10.00%), and CAVERTON (-10.00%) were among the top losers.
The top traded stocks by volume included TRANSCORP (-9.94%), ACCESSCORP (-6.23%), and STERLINGNG (-9.18%), while GTCO (-8.71%), ACCESSCORP (-6.23%), and ZENITHBANK (-9.93%) led in terms of traded value.
Furthermore, key players in the market such as ZENITHBANK, UBA, GTCO, MTNN, and BUACEMENT experienced price losses, while DANGCEM and BUAFOODS managed to sustain gains.
FBNH and ACCESSCORP, both recently crossing the N1 trillion market cap, saw declines by -9.79% and -6.23% respectively, slipping below the significant threshold just a day after achieving it.
This shift in market dynamics underscores the inherent volatility and unpredictability of the stock market, leaving investors and analysts cautiously observing future trends and potential market corrections.
Emmanuel Ochayi is a journalist. He is a graduate of the University of Lagos, School of first choice and the nations pride. Emmanuel is keen on exploring writing angles in different areas, including Business, climate change, politics, Education, and others.
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