The Nigerian equities market opened the week on a bearish note as investors embarked on profit-taking in some high-cap stocks, leading to a loss of N94bn in market capitalisation at the close of trading on Monday.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange Limited showed that the market capitalisation dipped to N98.7tn from N98.8tn recorded on Friday, representing a 0.1 per cent decline. Similarly, the benchmark index fell by 148.90 points to close at 155,496.15.
Despite the overall decline, the market remains on a positive trajectory, reflecting a one-week gain of 3.71 per cent, a four-week gain of 9.4 per cent, and an impressive year-to-date return of 51.08 per cent.
Trading data revealed that investors exchanged a total of 502.99 million shares valued at N24.94bn in 39,945 deals, showing a 58 per cent decline in volume and a 21 per cent drop in turnover compared with the previous session, although the number of deals rose by 33 per cent.