The Nigerian equities market extended its losing streak on Thursday, as the All-Share Index fell by 0.40%, closing at 109,183.02 basis points compared to 109,619.10 in the previous session. This pullback dragged the year-to-date gain lower to 6.08%.

Investors collectively lost N274.07bn in market value, with the capitalisation declining to N68.62tr. The negative performance was mainly attributed to persistent sell pressure in major stocks such as Dangote Sugar, Nigerian Breweries, Transcorp, UBA, Access Holdings, GTCO, and Zenith Bank, along with 27 other decliners.

The trading mood remained weak, with a broader market sentiment that showed 34 stocks posting losses, against 22 gainers. Union Home Real Estate Trust led the list of advancers, while CHELLARAM and MAYBAKER closed as the top underperformers. CUSTODIAN, however, traded above its 52-week high at N21.80, marking a notable exception.

Market activity was robust, with total traded volume increasing by 147.98% to 1.65 billion units. The total value of trades reached N19.10 billion across 26,176 deals. ROYALEX emerged as the most active stock by volume with 903.59 million shares, while FIDELITYBK recorded the highest value of trades at N2.42 billion.

Contribution Breakdown:

ROYALEX accounted for over half of the day’s total volume, with a 54.86% share. FIDELITYBK and JAPAULGOLD followed with 8.34% and 4.96%, respectively. In terms of value, FIDELITYBK contributed the most with a 12.67% share, closely followed by MTNN and UBA.