At the close of trading on Wednesday, the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 623.41 points, or 0.45 per cent, to settle at 138,157.14. On a weekly basis, the market shed 2.19 per cent, while the month-to-date decline widened to 5.25 per cent. Despite the recent slide, year-to-date gains still stood at 34.23 per cent.
Trading activity improved, with 482.75 million shares exchanged in 28,177 deals, valued at N19.67bn. This reflected a 20 per cent increase in volume and a 70 per cent jump in turnover compared to Tuesday’s session, although the number of deals fell by 10 per cent. Market capitalisation closed the week at N87.4tn.
Out of 126 actively traded stocks, 14 posted gains while 44 closed lower. Secure Electronic Technology led the gainers with a 9.09 per cent rise to N0.96 per share, followed by Consolidated Hallmark Holdings, up 8.53 per cent at N4.20, and John Holt, which gained 7.94 per cent to close at N6.80. Other top performers included Cadbury Nigeria (+5.45%), Wema Bank (+5.31%), and FCMB (+5.00%).
On the losers’ chart, Learn Africa, Legend Internet, and Daar Communications each shed 10 per cent to close at N7.02, N4.77, and N0.90 per share, respectively. AXA Mansard dropped 9.95 per cent to N14.39, University Insurance fell 9.60 per cent to N1.13, while Sunu Assurance declined 9.57 per cent to N5.01 per share.
Access Holdings topped activity by volume with 43.03 million shares traded, followed by Fidelity Bank (40.13m), GTCO (34.85m), UBA (33.43m), and AIICO Insurance (29.08m). By value, Aradel led at N6.46bn, trailed by GTCO (N3.16bn), UBA (N1.54bn), Zenith Bank (N1.17bn), and Access Holdings (N1.10bn).
Market analysts attributed the persistent losses to profit-taking in previously strong stocks and growing investor caution amid economic headwinds. They noted that the sustained weekly downturn underscores the need for investors to tread carefully, particularly in highly volatile equities.
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