The Nigerian equities market continued on a downward slope on Tuesday, extending its bearish momentum as sustained profit-taking pressure kept overall market performance in negative territory.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) slipped further by 0.12% to close at 144,159.77 points, trimming the year-to-date (YTD) return to 40.86% per cent.

This mild decline translated into a loss of approximately N110 billion in investor wealth, bringing total market capitalisation down to N92.22 trillion.

Market sentiment remained largely tepid, highlighted by a marginally negative market breadth of 27 gainers against 28 losers.

Despite the bearish undertone, a handful of tickers showed resilience, with NCR, UPL, Tantalizer, Caverton Offshore Support Group, and Union Dicon Salt Plc emerging as the top performers.

On the flip side, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank, McNichols, Livestock Feeds, Regal Insurance, and UPDC Property Development Company led the laggards’ chart, reflecting pockets of sell-off across mid- and small-cap counters.

Sectoral performance was mixed, underscoring the cautious mood among investors.

The Banking Index recorded the steepest decline, shedding 0.90 percent as traders continued to take profits in tier-one lenders following recent rallies.

The Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas indices also slipped by 0.02 percent and 0.04 percent respectively, driven by mild price losses in select large-cap constituents.

Conversely, the Insurance Index posted a modest rebound of 0.13 percent, buoyed by renewed interest in some underwriters, while the Industrial Goods and Commodity sectors closed flat, indicating limited activity in heavyweight counters.

Overall market participation weakened further, mirroring the day’s negative price direction. Although traded volume inched up by 5.72 percent to 381 million units, the total number of deals dropped sharply by 21.98 percent to 21,827. Likewise, aggregate turnover value declined significantly by 45.89 percent to N16.71 billion, reflecting reduced appetite for large-ticket transactions.
With profit-taking still dominating sentiment, analysts expect the market to trade cautiously in the short term, pending fresh catalysts that could stimulate renewed buying interest or shift overall market direction.

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