Onome Amuge
Nigeria’s equity market extended its bearish run on Thursday as mounting sell pressures in bellwether stocks including GTCO and Dangote Sugar pushed the benchmark index lower and erased N437.5 billion in value.
The Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index (NGX ASI) declined 0.49 per cent to close at 140,557.24 points, trimming year-to-date gains to 36.56 per cent. Total market capitalisation slid to N88.93 trillion, dragged down chiefly by losses in Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) and Dangote Sugar Refinery, two of the most actively traded stocks on the bourse.
The day’s trading pattern revealed concentrated sell-offs in medium- and large-cap counters including Ellah Lakes, Lafarge Africa (WAPCO) and GTCO, reflecting the extent to which profit-taking and risk aversion are dominating sentiment.
GTCO, the country’s largest bank by market value, emerged as the most traded stock in value terms, accounting for 31.5 per cent of the total turnover on Thursday. But the scale of trading did not prevent the stock from slipping 3.1 per cent, making it one of the day’s biggest drags on the ASI.
The lender has been at the centre of market activity for months, buoyed by strong interim earnings and aggressive expansion across West and East Africa. However, traders say the recent sell-off reflects a combination of profit-taking and wider concerns about the outlook for the banking sector as regulatory costs and non-performing loans edge higher. The NGX banking index fell 1.41 per cent on the day, the heaviest sectoral decline, as investors trimmed holdings across the tier-one banks.
Dangote Sugar Refinery, part of Aliko Dangote’s conglomerate and one of Nigeria’s largest consumer goods firms, also suffered heavy losses, shedding 5.5 per cent. The company has faced rising input costs due to currency volatility and higher energy prices, factors that have narrowed margins even as consumer demand remains relatively resilient. Its decline helped push the consumer goods index down 0.92 per cent, deepening worries that inflationary pressures are filtering through to corporate earnings.
Overall market breadth was negative, with 39 decliners against 18 gainers. Insurance stocks offered the sole bright spot, with the sector index up 0.44 per cent, while commodities were flat. The industrial goods index slipped 0.45 per cent and oil and gas fell marginally by 0.02 per cent, mirroring subdued appetite across key sectors.
SCOA led the advancers’ chart with a 10 per cent gain, followed by RT Briscoe (+9.8 per cent), NEM Insurance (+8 per cent), NGX Group (+7.9 per cent) and McNichols (+7 per cent). But the advances were not enough to offset losses among heavier weights. INTEnEgins was the top loser on the day, down 9.6 per cent, trailed by Ellah Lakes (-8.5 per cent), Dangote Sugar (-5.5 per cent), Honeywell Flour (-4.4 per cent), Japaul Gold (-3.9 per cent) and GTCO (-3.1 per cent).
Despite the broad market decline, activity levels remained elevated. Total trading volume jumped 29.6 per cent to 885 million units, while value rose 27.4 per cent to N28.3 billion, even as the number of deals slipped 8.8 per cent to 26,163.
Champion Breweries led the volume chart, accounting for 22.8 per cent of all shares exchanged, followed by Access Holdings (11.6 per cent), GTCO (10.9 per cent), Sterling Financial Holdings (10.3 per cent) and FBN Holdings (5.2 per cent). The strong turnover in financials underlined investor focus on the banking sector, even as price performance faltered.
The latest setback extends a week-long downtrend in Nigerian equities as investors weigh macroeconomic headwinds. The market has been one of the world’s best performers in 2025, driven by domestic liquidity and relative scarcity of alternative assets, but analysts warn that volatility is likely to persist.
“The market remains fundamentally strong, but we are seeing the aftershocks of profit-taking in high-cap names. The elevated turnover shows that liquidity remains healthy, but there is a rotation underway as investors rebalance portfolios in response to earnings outlooks and policy signals,” said Atlass Portfolio Limited in a research note to clients.
The central bank’s tighter monetary stance, aimed at curbing inflation and stabilising the naira, has also added pressure on equity valuations by raising yields in fixed-income markets. Foreign investors, meanwhile, remain cautious, citing limited clarity on currency reforms and the government’s fiscal trajectory.
Market watchers expect the bearish momentum to persist in the near term unless fresh catalysts emerge. For now, GTCO and Dangote Sugar embody the dilemma facing the Nigerian equity market. Despite being household names with strong franchises, they remain vulnerable to shifting investor sentiment and macroeconomic strains.
