The bearish momentum dominating the Nigerian equities market persisted on Thursday, November 20, as the All-Share Index (ASI) declined further, shedding 458.98 points to close at 144,187.03. This represents a 0.32% drop from the previous day’s close of 144,646.01 and extends a market downturn that has weighed heavily on investor sentiment throughout the week.
The session reflected across-the-board weakness, with trading activity declining significantly. Total market volume fell sharply to 349.2 million units, a steep contraction from the robust 892 million shares traded in the preceding session. This downturn in market participation underscores growing caution among investors amid heightened volatility, macroeconomic uncertainties, and profit-taking across several key sectors.
Market capitalization also mirrored the overall decline, easing to N91.70 trillion from N92.00 trillion previously, translating to a loss of roughly N300 billion in a single trading session. The continued erosion in market value places additional pressure on the ASI, which has struggled to regain upward momentum despite a still-impressive year-to-date return of 40.09%.
Despite the broader negative performance, a handful of stocks managed to buck the trend. NCR topped the gainers’ chart with a full 10% increase, closing at N37.40. ROYALEX followed closely, appreciating by 7.57% to settle at N1.99. Other notable advancers included CILEASING, LIVINGTRUST, and RTBRISCOE, which gained 6.00%, 3.87%, and 3.55%, respectively. Their performances suggest that selective buying interest persists in pockets of the market, particularly for stocks perceived as undervalued or positioned for near-term catalysts.
On the flip side, the losers’ chart was dominated by NEIMETH and OMATEK, both falling by the maximum 10% to N4.95 and N1.17, respectively. TANTALIZERS declined 9.75%, while INTENEGINS dipped 9.62%. WEMABANK also faced heavy selling pressure, shedding 8.63% to close at N18.00. These declines reflect a combination of weak risk appetite, sector pressures, and repositioning by institutional investors.
Market activity was led by high-volume trades in banking stocks, reaffirming the sector’s central role in market liquidity. FIDELITYBK topped the activity chart with 54.2 million shares traded, followed by FCMB with 30.3 million shares. TANTALIZERS, GTCO, and ACCESSCORP rounded out the top five most actively traded equities.
In terms of value, GTCO led the session with N2.1 billion worth of transactions. FIDELITYBK posted N1.03 billion in turnover, while ZENITHBANK recorded N820 million. MTNN and ARADEL also featured prominently, reflecting their consistent attraction for institutional and retail investors.
Among the SWOOTs (Stocks Worth Over One Trillion), the performance was largely negative. Nigerian Breweries slipped 2.14%, while International Breweries lost 0.83%. Within the FUGAZ group, which tracks the top-tier banking institutions, ACCESSCORP declined 3%, UBA shed 2.63%, GTCO dipped 0.71%, and ZENITHBANK closed 0.59% lower. FIRSTHOLDCO was the lone bright spot, managing a modest 0.33% gain.
Market Outlook
Analysts warn that the ASI remains under notable bearish pressure, and continued weak sentiment could drag the index even lower in the short term. However, they note that a rebound in mid- and large-cap equities could strengthen market recovery, with the potential for the index to reclaim the 150,000-point level if buying momentum improves. For now, caution remains the prevailing theme as investors wait for clearer signals from both domestic and global markets
