NGX Market Capitalisation Falls to N162.39tn as Bearish Sentiment Persists
Nigeria’s stock market extended its recent decline on Wednesday, with the NGX All-Share Index falling to 250,096.75 points, from 250,273.50 points in the previous trading session.
The decline pushed total market capitalisation down to approximately N162.39 trillion, as investors continued to exercise caution despite the CBN’s recent reduction of the Monetary Policy Rate to 23 percent.
Trading activity remained substantial, with 446.90 million shares changing hands across 38,808 deals.
The market’s performance was mixed across sectors.
The NGX Main Board Index fell to 10,851.32 points, while the NGX 30 Index declined to 9,203.79. The Banking Index also dropped to 2,644.49.
Insurance stocks, however, bucked the broader trend, with the NGX Insurance Index edging higher to 1,093.69.
Tripple Gee and Company emerged as the strongest gainer of the session, climbing 9.96 percent to N3.09. Critical Minerals Financing Corp gained 9.86 percent to N4.01, while Champion Breweries advanced 9.50 percent to N10.95.
Coronation Insurance also recorded a strong 9.24 percent increase to N2.60.
However, significant selling pressure remained in several counters.
STANBIC IBTC ETF 30 and the SIAML Pension ETF 40 both declined by 10 percent, while Thomas Wyatt Nigeria, NewGold ETF and Legend Internet recorded losses of 9.74 percent, 9.63 percent and 9.59 percent respectively.
UBA also fell 1.22 percent to N44.50, while selling pressure affected Oando, Wema Bank, Transnational Corporation and Dangote Sugar Refinery.
The market weakness comes at an interesting point for Nigeria’s financial system.
The banking sector has just completed one of the country’s biggest recapitalisation exercises in decades, with lenders raising more than N4.65 trillion in new capital. That exercise has substantially strengthened Nigerian banks’ balance sheets and improved their position in continental rankings.
Yet stronger bank capital has not automatically translated into a sustained equity-market rally.
Investors are still weighing interest rates, corporate earnings, inflation, government borrowing and the outlook for consumer demand.
The recent reduction in the MPR could eventually provide support for equities if it translates into lower lending costs and stronger economic activity. But the CBN’s simultaneous liquidity-management operations mean financial conditions remain relatively tight.
The market is therefore entering a potentially important transition period: banks have stronger balance sheets, the naira is considerably more stable and economic activity is accelerating, but investors still need evidence that these improvements will translate into stronger corporate earnings and sustainable returns.
