February 24, (THEWILL) — The Nigerian equities market closed Tuesday’s session on a bearish note, reversing some of the gains recorded earlier in the week as increased selling pressure dragged key indicators lower.
Profit-taking activities across major stocks, particularly in consumer goods and mid-cap equities, contributed to the negative market sentiment.
Tuesday’s session recorded an opening market capitalization of ₦125.968 trillion, which dropped to ₦124.827 trillion by the close of the day. Similarly, the NGX All-Share Index dipped from an opening of 196,263.56 to finish at 194,484.61.
Market breadth finished in the negative territory with 40 losers standing sharply against 27 gainers, reflecting broad-based declines across multiple sectors despite pockets of buying interest in banking and financial services stocks.
Among the top performers, Jaiz Bank led the gainers with a 10.00 percent increase, moving from ₦11.60 to ₦12.76. Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank followed with a 9.83 percent rise to ₦19.00, while FCMB Group climbed 9.72 percent to close at ₦13.55.
Other notable advancers included FTN Cocoa Processors, which rose 9.09 percent to ₦0.72, and Sterling Financial Holdings, which increased by 7.50 percent to ₦8.60.
On the losing side, Daar Communications and Tantalizers both shed 10.00 percent of their value to close at ₦2.25 and ₦4.86 respectively. BUA Foods followed closely with a 9.99 percent decline from ₦845.00 to ₦760.60, while Ellah Lakes dropped 9.96 percent to ₦10.40 and Japaul Gold lost 9.95 percent to finish at ₦3.80.
Several stocks remained unchanged during the session, including Seplat Energy, Okomu Oil Palm, Presco Plc, Custodian Investment, and UACN Plc.
This suggests selective investor positioning in fundamentally strong counters despite the broader market decline.
Overall, the session reflected heightened volatility and profit-taking following recent bullish momentum.
Analysts note that while the broader market trend remains constructive in the medium term, short-term corrections may persist as investors rebalance portfolios.
Market participants will continue to monitor liquidity flows and sector rotation patterns, with bargain hunting expected to emerge if prices stabilize in subsequent sessions.
Ogochukwu Onwaeze is a writer specializing in business and economic journalism. At THEWILL News Media, she translates market trends, financial developments, and policy shifts into clear and engaging stories.
