Onome Amuge
Nigeria’s stock market extended its losses on Tuesday as renewed selling pressure in bellwether names such as Dangote Sugar and Access Holdings dragged the benchmark index lower, erasing more than N326 billion in value.
The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange fell 0.40 per cent to close at 140,929.60 points, reducing year-to-date gains to 36.92 per cent. Market capitalisation dropped to N89.20 trillion from N89.53 trillion the previous day, marking one of the heaviest one-day losses in September.
Tuesday’s session saw more laggards than gainers, with 35 stocks declining against 16 that advanced, producing a market breadth of 0.5x. The depth of the sell-off was visible across every major sector, with Oil and Gas down 1.80 per cent, Banking 1.04 per cent, Commodities 0.90 per cent, Insurance 0.79 per cent, Industrial 0.60 per cent and Consumer Goods 0.11 per cent.
Losses in Dangote Sugar Refinery, one of the market’s most liquid consumer goods stocks, were particularly punishing. The counter slumped 10 per cent to close at N54.00, down from N60.00, shaving billions of naira off its market capitalisation and raising investor concerns over input cost pressures in the sugar sector.
Wema Bank, which has rallied strongly this year on the back of digital expansion and improved earnings guidance, fell 8.27 per cent to N18.85 from N20.55, as traders booked profits and rotated out of banking counters. Access Holdings also lost ground, slipping into the top five losers’ bracket.
Secure Electronic Technology (NSLTECH) extended its poor run, sliding 6.25 per cent to N0.75, while Aradel Holdings rounded out the day’s biggest laggards with another sharp markdown. Analysts said the underperformance of small-cap technology and energy stocks reflected investors’ wariness of illiquid counters in a volatile environment.
On the other end, Thomas Wyatt Nigeria rose 9.80 per cent to N2.80, while Chellarams gained 9.59 per cent to N16.00. Auto dealer RT Briscoe advanced 9.50 per cent to N3.92. Custodian Investment and NGX Group also closed in positive territory. Yet these gains, largely in small- and mid-cap names, were insufficient to offset the drag from heavyweight financial and consumer stocks.
Despite the weakness, turnover data revealed a shift towards larger ticket transactions. The volume of shares traded rose 55.37 per cent to 759.08 million units, while the value of transactions jumped 87.53 per cent to N25.73 billion. The number of deals, however, fell 17.34 per cent to 23,657, signalling that fewer but larger trades dominated the day’s activity.
On the volume table, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance led with 169 million shares traded in 138 deals. First Bank Holdings followed with 100 million shares in 458 deals, while Zenith Bank exchanged 58 million shares across 1,380 deals.
In terms of value, Zenith Bank topped with N6.9 billion worth of equities changing hands, ahead of Guaranty Trust Holdings at N4.1 billion and First Bank Holdings at N3.1 billion. Analysts noted that concentration of value trades in tier-one banks indicated that institutional investors were still repositioning portfolios even as prices slipped.
The weakness across all six key indices indicated broad-based caution rather than stock-specific issues. Oil and Gas stocks were hit hardest, reflecting concerns over global crude price volatility and Nigeria’s production shortfalls.
With year-to-date gains still above 36 per cent, analysts say the market has room for correction without undermining the 2025 rally. However, they caution that prolonged negative breadth and declines in large-cap names could test investor confidence in the final quarter.
