Two days of public holidays. That's all it took to spook the Nigerian stock market.
Investors lost N889 billion yesterday as the All-Share Index dropped 1,386.18 points — a 0.55 per cent decline — to close at 249,738.84 points. Market capitalisation now sits at N160.094 trillion.
The trigger? The federal government declared Wednesday and Thursday public holidays for Eid ul Adha. And traders don't like uncertainty. So they sold first and asked questions later.
The Losers Outnumbered the Winners
Market breadth tells the story. 37 decliners versus just 18 gainers. That's a weak market by any measure.
Dangote Sugar Refinery led the losers' chart, crashing 10 per cent to close at N78.30. Transcorp Power wasn't far behind, down 9.97 per cent to N245.50. The Initiates Plc (TIP) lost 9.85 per cent, Abbey Mortgage Bank dropped 9.49 per cent, and Fidelity Bank declined 9.05 per cent to N21.60.
The pain spread across large and medium-cap stocks: Transcorp Power, Unilever Nigeria, Dangote Sugar Refinery, GTCO, and Red Star Express all took hits.
A Few Bright Spots
Not everything bled. Austin Laz & Company and McNichols gained 10 per cent each, closing at N4.40 and N7.92 respectively. International Energy Insurance rose 9.89 per cent to N4.11. Learn Africa added 9.44 per cent, and Haldane McCall climbed 8.06 per cent.
But these were islands in a red ocean.
Volume and Activity
Total volume traded fell 10.38 per cent to 564.066 million units, valued at N27.222 billion across 65,666 deals. Access Holdings topped activity with 80.607 million shares worth N1.984 billion. Zenith Bank followed at 33.832 million shares (N4.467 billion), while Mutual Benefits Assurance traded 31.807 million shares.
What Analysts Expect
Cowry Assets Management says sentiment will stay "mixed" when trading resumes. Investors are positioning cautiously ahead of the holidays. No one wants to hold risk through a long weekend.
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According to a Reuters analysis of African equity markets, holiday-driven sell-offs are common but rarely signal long-term trends. The Nigerian Exchange Group confirmed that year-to-date returns still stand at 60.8 per cent despite the pullback.
The Bottom Line
The market reopens Friday. Whether buyers return or sellers continue depends entirely on how sentiment shifts over the holiday. For now, N889 billion is gone — at least on paper.