Nigerian Stocks Start Second Half At Two-Month Low

…market value drops to N144.8tn

Nigeria’s stock market opened the second half of the year on a weak note, with its market capitalisation falling to a more than two-month low as investors extended the sell-off that erased nearly N12 trillion in value in June.

Analysis of Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) data by MarketReporters showed that market capitalisation declined by 1.63 percent to N144.8 trillion on Wednesday from N147.2 trillion on Tuesday, its lowest level since April 23, when the market was valued at N143.5 trillion.

The benchmark All-Share Index also fell to 225,690.1 points from 229,419.2 points, reflecting broad-based losses across the market.

The latest decline caps a difficult June for equities. Since the beginning of the month, investors have wiped N11.5 trillion off the NGX’s market value, reducing it from N158.7 trillion.

Last month’s sell-off marks the market’s first monthly decline this year, following months of sustained gains. April recorded the strongest rally, with market capitalisation increasing by N26.1 trillion.

The correction has been driven largely by profit-taking after a prolonged rally that pushed Nigerian equities to record highs. Despite the recent pullback, the market remains Africa’s best-performing stock exchange in U.S. dollar terms.

According to data from African Markets, a real-time market intelligence platform, the NGX delivered a 56.9 percent dollar return year-to-date as of June 26, outperforming 16 other African exchanges tracked by the platform. The strong performance reflects renewed investor confidence following macroeconomic reforms and a more stable naira.

Ghana ranked second with a 56.4 percent return, followed by Zimbabwe (38.74 percent), Rwanda (38.72 percent) and Tanzania at 37.2 percent.