…The NASD market also closed on a bearish note, as the NASD Security Index (NSI) declined by 0.28% to settle at 4,233.91 points
WED MAR 11 2026-theGBJournal| Trading on the Nigerian equities market remained under pressure on Wednesday as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) extended its bearish run, with the benchmark All-Share Index closing 0.1% lower at 195,898.52 points, amid sustained sell-offs across key sectors.
The Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns consequently settled at +1.6% and +25.9%, respectively, while market capitalisation also declined by 0.09% to settle at N125.75 trillion.
The bearish sentiment was driven by sell-offs in PRESCO (-10.00%), UACN (-9.97%), and DANGCEM (-0.61%), which more than offset gains recorded in NGXGROUP (+10.00%), BUACEMENT (+4.44%), and WAPCO (+1.70%).
The total volume traded declined by 10.1% to 671.27 million units, valued at NGN26.13 billion, and exchanged in 58,792 deals. WEMABANK was the most traded stock by volume and value at 106.36 million units and NGN2.75 billion, respectively.
Analysing by Sectors, the Insurance (-0.4%), Consumer Goods (-0.4%) and Oil & Gas (-0.1%) indices declined, while the Industrial Goods index (+1.4%) advanced. The Banking Index closed flat.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative (0.7x), as 39 tickers lost relative to 29 gainers. PRESCO (-10.0%) and UACN (-10.0%) led the losers, while NGXGROUP (+10.0%) and PREMPAINTS (+9.9%) posted the most significant gains of the day.
The NASD market also closed on a bearish note, as the NASD Security Index (NSI) declined by 0.28% to settle at 4,233.91 points, while market capitalisation also fell by 0.28% to close at N2.53trn.
Market activity declined significantly compared to the previous session, with trading volume and value dropping by 91.25% and 75.92%, respectively.
SDLIGHTFSP (+9.09%) led the gainers’ chart, while SDUBNPROP (-9.17%) recorded the steepest decline in today’s session.
Market analysts noted that the continued decline in the equities market reflects investors’ repositioning and cautious trading behaviour, even as macroeconomic indicators show some signs of stability.
Meanwhile, despite the weakness in equities, the naira recorded modest gains against the U.S. dollar rising by 0.9% to N1,385.00/US$ in the foreign exchange market, supported by improved dollar liquidity and easing demand pressures.
The currency’s appreciation offered a contrasting signal to the negative mood in the stock market, highlighting the diverging dynamics between the equity and currency markets.
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