NGX: Equities shed N1.32 trillion on profit-taking in industrial goods, banking, consumer stocks

The Nigerian equities market shed a whopping N1.32 trillion on Monday, extending Friday’s marginal decline as sell pressure across 46 stocks dominated by industrial goods, banking, and consumer stocks outweighed buying interest in 19 price gainers.

The biggest pressure came from BUA Cement, PZ Cussons, Cadbury, NASCON, FCMB, and First HoldCo, as they recorded the steepest declines among the major names on the sheet.

The NGX All-Share Index fell by 2,049.65 points, representing 0.84% to close at 241,749.11 points, down from 243,798.76 last Friday, wiping out roughly N1.32 trillion in market capitalization, from N156.444 trillion last Friday to N155.129 trillion on Monday.

The decline trimmed market’s year-to-date return to 55.35%.

What the data is saying:

All-Share Index: 241,749.11 points, down 0.84% from 243,798.76 points

• Market Capitalisation: N155.13 trillion, down from N156.44 trillion, a loss of about N1.32 trillion
• Volume Traded: 523.54 million shares, up 18.66%
• Value Traded: N22.28 billion, up 14.81%
• Deals: 59,945 transactions, up 33.39%
• Year-to-Date Return: 55.35%
• Market Breadth: Negative with 44 decliners against 19 advancers

Top 5 Gainers:

• Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF) — up 9.97% to N163.30
• International Breweries (INTBREW) — up 9.77% to N14.60
• Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) — up 8.36% to N177.00
• UAC of Nigeria (UACN) — up 8.11% to N199.95
• Daar Communications (DAARCOMM) — up 6.67% to N1.76

Top 5 Losers:

• PZ Cussons Nigeria (PZ) — down 10.00% to N81.00
• BUA Cement (BUACEMENT) — down 9.99% to N306.20
• Red Star Express (REDSTAREX) — down 9.98% to N22.10
• R.T. Briscoe (RTBRISCOE) — down 9.70% to N12.10
• C&I Leasing (CILEASING) — down 9.38% to N5.80

Sectoral Performance:

• NGX Banking — down 1.44% to 2,118.28 points
• NGX Consumer Goods — up 0.59% to 4,719.53 points
• NGX Insurance — down 2.18% to 1,108.30 points
• NGX Industrial — down 3.28% to 10,361.67 points
• NGX Oil/Gas — down 0.09% to 5,250.22 points
• NGX Commodity — flat at 1,781.26 points

More insights:

Monday’s session was dominated by heavy losses in industrial goods names and the banking heavyweights. The weakness in banking names reflects broader profit-taking after a strong run earlier in the year, rather than any fundamental deterioration in the sector’s outlook.

• BUA Cement led the retreat, shedding 9.99% to close at N306.20 from N340.20.
• PZ Cussons Nigeria followed closely, down 10.00% to N81.00, making it the day’s biggest decliner in percentage terms.
• Cadbury Nigeria and NASCON Allied Industries also came under pressure, losing 8.95% and 8.91% respectively, as investors took profits after recent gains in the sector.
• Banking stocks were not spared either. FCMB Group declined 6.48% to N10.10, while First HoldCo dropped 5.20% to N65.60.
• Zenith Bank shed 3.25% to close at N107.20, and GTCO eased 1.43% to N124.20.
• UBA recorded a marginal decline of 0.61%, closing at N40.75.
• Elsewhere, AXA Mansard Insurance fell 4.88% to N11.70,
• Transcorp lost 2.47% to settle at N39.50, and Oando slipped 2.26% to N39.00.
• Unilever Nigeria and NGX Group also closed lower, down 1.88% and 1.37% respectively.

On the gainers’ side, NIDF stood out, trading above its 52-week high of N148.50 to close at N163.30. FTN Cocoa also broke past its 52-week high, touching N3.00 from a prior high of N2.91.

Other notable gainers included International Breweries, NAHCO, UACN, and DAAR Communications. In total, 46 stocks declined against just 19 that advanced, underscoring the broad-based nature of Monday’s sell-off.

Volume and value:

Despite the negative price action, trading activity strengthened considerably.

• Volume traded rose 18.66% to 523.54 million shares.
• Value of transactions at N22.28 billion across 59,945 deals, a 33.39% jump in deal count.
• FCMB recorded the highest traded volume, with 102.24 million units changing hands, representing 19.53% of the day’s total volume.
• SEPLAT topped the value chart, accounting for N3.62 billion, or 16.23% of total value traded.

INTBREW and Access Holdings contributed 5.11% and 4.73% of total volume, while Stanbic IBTC and Zenith Bank followed SEPLAT on the value leaderboard.

What you should know:

The industrial goods sector bore the brunt of Monday’s losses, with BUA Cement, Cadbury, and NASCON all recording double-digit or near double-digit declines

• Market breadth remained firmly negative, signalling widespread caution among investors
• The Consumer Goods sector was the lone bright spot, posting modest gains even as other sectors declined
• Year-to-date returns remain strong at 55.35%, despite Monday’s pullback

Analysts expect the market to stabilise in the coming sessions, supported by strategic investor repositioning and portfolio rebalancing, though continued profit-taking in previously outperforming counters could slow any rebound.