Stock Market Declines by 0.05% Amid Persistent Sell Pressure

Lagos, March 20, 2025 (Naija247news) – The Nigerian stock market continued its downward trajectory on Thursday as performance indices fell by 0.05%, driven by ongoing sell pressure across major stocks.

The market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) dropped by N35 billion, or 0.05%, settling at N65.754 trillion, down from N65.789 trillion the previous day.

Similarly, the All-Share Index fell by 0.05%, losing 56.36 points to close at 104,858.77, compared to 104,915.13 on Wednesday.

The decline was largely attributed to persistent selling pressure on key stocks, including Unilever, Accesscorp, and Afriprud, which pushed the market into negative territory.

Market breadth also closed negative, with 28 losers and 14 gainers. On the losers’ side, Livestock Feeds saw a significant drop of 9.57%, closing at N7.65, while Royal Exchange lost 8.24%, closing at 78k per share.

Custodian Investment Trust declined by 6.98%, ending at N20, and UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust fell by 6.23%, closing at N2.86 per share. Champion Breweries also saw a drop of 5.16%, closing at N2.02 per share.

On the gainers’ chart, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG) surged by 9.64%, closing at N9.10, while Veritas Kapital Assurance rose by 8.41%, closing at N1.16 per share. Deap Capital Management and Trust gained 7.61%, closing at 99k, and WAPIC Insurance increased by 4.26%, closing at N2.45 per share. Wema Bank saw a rise of 2.37%, closing at N10.80 per share.

A total of 310.53 million shares valued at N6.247 billion were traded across 10,182 transactions, a significant drop from the previous day’s 1.37 billion shares worth N12.375 billion across 12,012 transactions.

Fidelity Bank topped the activity chart, with 40 million shares worth N672 million exchanged. Veritas Kapital Assurance followed with 37.176 million shares valued at N42.415 million, while Nigerian Breweries traded 27.011 million shares worth N890 million.

Zenith Bank sold 22.905 million shares valued at N1.072 billion, and Access Corporation traded 20.983 million shares worth N464 million.

Analysts at Veltiva Securities Ltd. predict that investors may look to rebalance their positions as the week comes to a close, which could drive mixed market sentiment. However, they cautioned that persistent weakness in the banking sector might continue to weigh on the index.

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