The Nigerian stock market closed slightly lower on Thursday ahead of the Easter holidays, as sell-offs in several stocks led to a marginal loss of about N3 billion in market value.
Key decliners, including John Holt, Abbey Mortgage Bank, International Energy Insurance, CHAMS, and Tantalizers, contributed to the downturn as investors offloaded shares.
Market capitalisation dipped slightly by 0.002 percent, closing at N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion recorded at the start of trading. The All-Share Index also declined by 4.66 points to settle at 201,698.89, though the market still holds a strong year-to-date return of 29.62 percent.
Despite the decline, market breadth remained positive, with 34 stocks gaining compared to 24 losers.
On the gainers’ chart, Unilever Nigeria led with a 10 percent rise to N103.40 per share, followed by Fortis Global Insurance, Multiverse Mining, Legend Internet, and Zichis Agro Allied Industries.
On the losing side, John Holt recorded the sharpest drop, falling by 9.91 percent to close at N15.45 per share.
Trading activity also weakened, with total volume declining by 31.33 percent to 559.98 million shares valued at N19.26 billion across 49,676 deals. Secure Electronic Technology led in volume, while Zenith Bank topped the value chart with transactions worth N2.47 billion.
