NGX weekly loss wipes N165bn as sell pressure hits penny and medium stocks. Market capitalisation dips 0.19% to N88.77 trillion

The NGX weekly loss deepened on Friday as persistent sell pressure in medium and penny stocks erased N165 billion from investors’ wealth.

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At the close of trading, market capitalisation slipped to N88.769 trillion, down 0.19 per cent from N88.934 trillion the previous day. Similarly, the All-Share Index dropped 261.74 points to 140,295.50 compared with 140,557.24 on Thursday.

Market breadth ended negative, with 31 losers against 19 gainers. Heavy selloffs in John Holt, Lasaco Assurance, Guinea Insurance, Universal Insurance, and Secure Electronic Technology drove the bearish outing.

John Holt led the losers’ table after falling 10 per cent to N6.30 per share, followed by Lasaco Assurance, which declined 9.64 per cent to N3.00.

Guinea Insurance shed 7.79 per cent to N1.42, Universal Insurance dropped 6.25 per cent to N1.20, while Secure Electronic Technology dipped 5.56 per cent to 85k per share.

On the gainers’ side, Learn Africa topped with a 9.86 per cent rise to N7.80. Union Dicon Salt advanced 8.04 per cent to N12.10, Prestige Assurance gained 6.75 per cent to N1.74, Academy Press rose 6.11 per cent to N9.55, and Omatek Ventures climbed 6.06 per cent to N1.40 per share.

Trading activity weakened sharply compared to the previous session, with 435.14 million shares worth N10.4 billion exchanged in 25,609 deals. This was down from 885.02 million shares valued at N28.3 billion traded across 26,163 deals on Thursday.

VFD Group topped activity with 49.3 million shares worth N542.2 million, followed by Secure Electronic Technology, which recorded 33.2 million shares at N28.8 million.

Access Corporation traded 26.9 million shares worth N716.9 million, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company posted 21.33 million shares valued at N1.9 billion. FirstHoldCo rounded out the top five with 19.93 million shares worth N646.7 million.

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The NGX weekly loss highlights the renewed volatility in Nigeria’s equities market, as investors remain cautious ahead of further macroeconomic adjustments.