Lagos, Nigeria — The Nigerian equities market experienced its first negative close of the week on Wednesday, with the benchmark index falling to 98,291.53 points. This decline comes as investors react to the recently released inflation data, which shows a significant uptick in the country’s inflation rate.

The National Bureau of Statistics reported that Nigeria’s headline inflation surged to 32.70 percent in September, up from 32.15 percent in August. This increase, driven primarily by a hike in petrol prices, marks a notable reversal from the declining trend observed over the previous two months.

Amidst these inflationary pressures, several stocks faced substantial losses. Deap Capital, UACN, Dangote Sugar, and Champion Breweries emerged as the day’s major laggards. Deap Capital saw its stock price drop from N1.20 to N1.32, reflecting a loss of 10 percent. Similarly, UACN declined from N19.70 to N21.65, losing 9.90 percent, while Dangote Sugar fell from N32 to N35.10, down by 9.69 percent. Champion Breweries also recorded a drop, closing at N3.75, down by 9.65 percent.

The market’s performance indicator decreased by 249.37 points, or 0.25 percent, resulting in a total market capitalization decline to N59.559 trillion. In total, investors engaged in 7,776 transactions, exchanging 257,551,949 shares valued at N8.993 billion.

Ahead of the trading session, analysts from Vetiva Research noted that they anticipate the market to trend sideways as investors adopt a cherry-picking strategy in response to the current economic conditions.

This latest market development highlights ongoing challenges for investors as they navigate Nigeria’s volatile economic landscape amid persistent inflation concerns.

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