The Nigerian stock market recorded a loss of N202 billion on Friday after three straight days of gains. This drop was mostly due to a sharp fall in Dangote Cement’s share price, along with a few other stocks.
According to the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the market capitalisation fell by 0.3%, dropping from N66.667 trillion on Thursday to N66.465 trillion on Friday. The All-Share Index also went down by 321.65 points, closing at 105,752.61.
Why the Market Fell
The decline was caused by falling share prices in major stocks like Dangote Cement, CHAMS, and VFD Group.
Top Losers:
- Dangote Cement: dropped 10%, now N432.00 per share
- Regency Alliance Insurance: down 8.06%, now 57k per share
- VFD Group: dropped 7.57%, now N17.10 per share
- CHAMS: down 7.27%, now N2.04 per share
- Sovereign Trust Insurance: fell 6.12%, now 92k per share
Top Gainers:
Despite the loss, the market still saw more gainers than losers, with 41 stocks rising and only 15 falling.
- Ikeja Hotel: rose 10%, now N12.10 per share
- Cadbury: up 9.92%, now N26.60 per share
Trading Activity
Trading volume increased with 428.08 million shares exchanged in 14,284 transactions, worth N20.174 billion. This was a big jump from the previous day’s 328.26 million shares valued at N10.370 billion.
Most Traded Stocks:
- Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO): 60.735 million shares worth N3.807 billion
- Fidelity Bank: 41.407 million shares worth N829 million
- Access Corporation: 40.556 million shares worth N968.26 million
- MTN Nigeria: 32.96 million shares worth N8.240 billion
- Zenith Bank: 22.93 million shares worth N1.054 billion
This sharp drop shows how much impact big companies like Dangote Cement can have on the entire stock market. Even with strong trading activity and more gainers, a major stock loss can pull the whole market down.