The Nigerian equity market shed N93bn on Monday, mirroring the broader global market decline.
The All-Share Index and market capitalisation fell by 0.17 per cent to 97,582.41 points and N55.40tn.
The day’s trading saw 9,738 transactions totalling N6.217bn, with 324.02m units of shares exchanged.
The market breadth was negative, as 23 equities gained while 25 saw their stock prices drop.
The top gainers were International Breweries, Presco Plc, and Sovereign Trust Insurance, each posting a 10 per cent rise to close at N4.62, N485.10, and N0.55, respectively.
Conversely, Chams Plc led the losers with a 10 per cent decline to close at N1.98, followed by University Press Plc, which shed 9.92 per cent to close at N2.18, and The Initiate Plc, down 8.26 per cent to end at N2.
The trading volume saw a 54 per cent increase to 324.02 million shares, and the number of deals rose by 47 per cent to 9,738.
Zenith Bank recorded the highest volume of 37 million traded shares, with United Bank for Africa, Veritas Kapital Assurance, and Oando following with 35 million, 25.5 million, and 20.3 million shares, respectively.
International capital markets also tumbled on Monday as investors reacted to fears of a potential recession in the United States.
According to Newsweek, the market shift was prompted by a weak US July payroll report, which revealed an increase in the unemployment rate to 4.3 per cent, the fourth consecutive monthly rise. The report also indicated a significant shortfall in nonfarm payrolls, which rose by only 120,000 against expectations of 200,000.
According to Reuters, the Chief Investment Officer at BlueBay Asset Management, Mark Dowding, said, “In our assessment, a lot of this (market sell-off) has been down to position capitulation as a number of macro funds have been caught the wrong way around on a trade, and stops have been triggered, initially starting with FX and the Japanese yen”.
The PUNCH reported a turbulent week for the Nigerian stock market last week; down by 0.46 per cent.
The decline resulted in the market closing at 97,745.73 points and N55.50tn, respectively, marking a loss of N438bn.
