The Nigerian equities market suffered a major setback on Tuesday, extending its losing streak for the seventh consecutive session as intense selloffs in heavyweight stocks triggered a sharp decline across the board.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) plunged 5.01 percent to close at 141,327.30 basis points, wiping out N4.61 trillion from investors’ wealth to settle market capitalization at N89.88 trillion.

The dip dragged the year-to-date return down to 37.31 per cent, from over 40 per cent at the start of the week.

The sharp drop was largely driven by steep declines in market bellwethers — Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria, and BUA Cement, which all fell by the maximum daily limit of 10 per cent. The sell pressure was broad-based, spanning all key sectors, with the Industrial Goods Index leading the losses at -8.55 percent, followed by Banking at -7.27 percent, Oil and Gas, -4.65 percent; Insurance, -4.33 percent, and Consumer Goods lost -2.20 percent.

Market sentiment was extremely weak, with 62 decliners overwhelming just 4 advancers, resulting in a depressed market breadth.

On the performance board, Academy Press and BUA Cement topped the losers’ chart with a 10 percent dip each, while NCR and Berger Paints emerged as the only notable gainers, rising by 9.8 percent and 2.3 percent, respectively, followed by FCMB and AXA Mansard, which 0.96 percent and 0.25 percent increase in share value.

Despite the bearish tone, trading activity surged significantly, a reflection of heightened institutional activity. Total trade volume climbed 80.03 percent to 655.95 million units, while turnover value soared 158.87 percent to N29.39 billion. However, deal count fell 9.23 per cent to 29,588 trades, suggesting large block transactions rather than widespread retail participation.

FBN Holdings led the activity chart by volume with 68.27 million shares exchanged, while Geregu Power dominated by value at N4.42 billion.

According to analysts, the combination of aggressive selloffs in top-cap stocks, pervasive sectoral weakness, and concentrated trading patterns points to heightened de-risking by institutional investors amid worsening market sentiment. The steep correction also reflects cautious investor positioning ahead of key macroeconomic indicators and corporate earnings reports expected later in the month.

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