Investors in the Nigerian stock market recorded a total loss of N2.205 trillion in four trading days, as the market closed the week on a bearish note.
On Friday alone, investors lost N475 billion, marking the fourth consecutive session of decline during the week.
From Tuesday to Friday, losses stood at N1.141 trillion, N74 billion, N515 billion, and N475 billion, respectively.
The downturn was largely driven by sustained profit-taking in heavyweight stocks and an interest rate cut by the Central Bank of Nigeria by 50 basis points to 26.5 percent in the week under review.
On Friday, the market capitalization dropped from N124.238 trillion at the opening of trading to N123.763 trillion at the close, representing a decline of 0.38 percent, or N475 billion.
Similarly, the All-Share Index fell by 0.38 percent, shedding 741.03 points to close at 192,826.78, compared to 193,567.81 recorded in the previous session.
The year-to-date return also declined to 23.91 percent.
Despite the overall negative performance, market breadth closed positive with 39 gainers against 25 losers on Friday.
Among the gainers, Sovereign Trust Insurance led the chart with a 9.95 percent increase to close at N2.21. Other notable gainers included RT Briscoe, NGX Group, Ellah Lakes, and Omatek.
On the losers’ chart, Mecure topped the list after shedding 9.97 percent to close at N75.85. It was followed by Meyer, Daar Communications, Champion Breweries, and Dangote Cement.
Trading activity also weakened, as total volume traded declined by 5.15 percent to 823.83 million shares valued at N34.75 billion across 63,759 transactions.
Fortis Global Insurance recorded the highest trading volume with 146.62 million shares, accounting for 17.80 percent of the total volume traded for the day.
Aradel posted the highest value of trades at N7.14 billion, representing 20.54 percent of the day’s total value traded.
