… Naira weakens
THUR JUNE 18 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market closed lower on Wednesday as a wave of profit-taking in some high-priced and heavyweight stocks offset gains in select banking and consumer names, pushing the benchmark index deeper into negative territory and trimming year-to-date returns.
The Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index (ASI) fell 0.49% to 240,802.72 points, reducing its year-to-date gain to 54.74%. Market capitalization also declined by 0.49% to N154.45 trillion, reflecting broad-based weakness across the bourse.
Investor sentiment was weighed down by steep declines in GEREGU Power Plc, which plunged 10.00%, alongside losses in Caverton Offshore Support Group and Red Star Express, which dropped 8.06% and 9.95%, respectively.
The selloff in these counters more than offset advances recorded in Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals, which gained 9.47%, Oando Plc, up 1.18%, and SUNU Assurances Nigeria, which rose 3.91%.
Despite the negative market close, some blue-chip stocks helped cushion the decline. Guaranty Trust Holding Company advanced 2.38%, while Dangote Sugar Refinery gained 1.92%, providing support to the benchmark amid widespread profit-taking.
Trading activity strengthened considerably, pointing to sustained investor participation despite the market weakness. Total transaction volume climbed 23.79% to 662.96 million shares, while the value of trades increased 8.51% to N39.98 billion.
Access Holdings emerged as the most actively traded stock by volume, with 130.26 million shares exchanged, followed closely by Jaiz Bank with 114.92 million units.
By value, MTN Nigeria led the market with N8.19 billion worth of shares traded, while Aradel Holdings recorded transactions valued at N6.79 billion.
Market breadth underscored the bearish sentiment, closing at a weak 0.30x as decliners significantly outnumbered gainers. GEREGU recorded the session’s steepest loss with a 10.00% decline, while Neimeth topped the gainers’ table after rising 9.47%.
In contrast to the weakness on the main exchange, the NASD Over-the-Counter market posted gains, supported by renewed activity and buying interest in select securities.
The NASD Security Index rose 1.04% to 4,378.45 points, lifting market capitalization by the same margin to N2.62 trillion.
The OTC market’s year-to-date return improved to 23.55%, while week-to-date performance edged higher to 0.08%.
Trading activity in the NASD market accelerated sharply, with total volume surging 305.64% and transaction value jumping 181.02%. Investors exchanged 2.79 million shares worth N128.27 million across 33 deals during the session.
However, sentiment within the OTC segment remained mixed, with losers outnumbering gainers by a ratio of three to two. SDLightFSP emerged as the top performer, advancing 8.85%, while SDGEFLUID recorded the largest decline, shedding 7.28%.
Meanwhile, pressure persisted in the foreign-exchange market, with the naira weakening further. The official exchange rate depreciated by 0.5% to close at N1,362.50 per dollar, underscoring continued demand pressures in the currency market despite ongoing efforts to stabilize the exchange rate.
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