The Business NG - April 08, 2025

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BusinessNG Market Wrap – April 8, 2025
Banking Stocks Drag NGX Down as Investors Lose N658 Billion

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) began the week on a sour note as a broad-based selloff in banking stocks triggered a steep market decline. At the close of trading on Monday, the NGX All-Share Index (NGXASI) plunged by 123 basis points, closing at 104,216.87 points—down from 105,511.89 on Friday. This represents a daily loss of N658 billion in market value, bringing total capitalisation down to N65.49 trillion.

The sharp pullback was driven primarily by losses in major banking stocks. Fidelity Bank led the fall with a 9.52% drop, followed by Access Corporation (-9.27%), UBA (-7.60%), FBN Holdings (-6.35%), GTCO (-5.62%), and Zenith Bank (-5.01%). The selloff extended to the oil and gas sector, with OANDO shedding a full 10% and ARADEL losing 0.60%.

Market sentiment remained weak, with 51 stocks declining, only 9 advancing, and 65 remaining unchanged, resulting in a negative market breadth of -0.65x. VFD Group emerged as the day’s top gainer, while CORNERST, NSLTECH, RTBRISCOE, and OANDO suffered the steepest losses. Still, there were bright spots: TOTAL and ABBEYBDS both hit new 52-week highs, trading at N745.00 and N5.15 respectively.

Despite the downturn, trading activity surged. Volume traded rose 27.51% to 444.11 million units, valued at N11.15 billion across 15,690 deals. FCMB led in volume with 65.50 million units traded, while GTCO dominated the value chart.

Market analysts warn that sustained pressure on tier-one banks could deepen losses unless investor sentiment rebounds midweek.