The Nigerian Exchange ( NGX) closed trading on a bearish note on Tuesday as investors lost about N810 billion following widespread sell-offs in major stocks.
The downturn saw the all-share index decline by 1,386.2 points to close at 249,738.8 points, slipping below the 250,000-point mark.
Market capitalisation also dropped from N160.9 trillion to N160.09 trillion after 65,666 deals were recorded during the trading session.
Trading volume fell to 563 million shares from 629 million shares traded in the previous session, reflecting weaker market activity.
Among the major laggards were Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and Transcorp Power Plc, which led the losers’ chart with declines of 10 per cent and 9.97 per cent respectively.
Other stocks on the losers’ table included Abbey Mortgage Bank, Fidelity Bank and The Initiates Plc.
On the gainers’ chart, Austin Laz and McNichols recorded the highest gains after both appreciated by 10 per cent. International Energy Insurance, Learn Africa and Haldane McCall also posted gains during the session.
In terms of trading activity, Access Holdings Plc led the volume chart with 80.6 million shares traded, while Zenith Bank Plc topped the value chart with transactions worth N4.4 billion.
Analysts noted that the negative sentiment pushed the year-to-date return lower to 60.49 per cent from 61.38 per cent recorded in the previous trading session.
The NGX Banking Index fell by 1.83 per cent, while the Insurance Index declined by 1.41 per cent. Consumer Goods also slipped by 0.77 per cent, while the Oil and Gas Index eased marginally by 0.14 per cent.
Market watchers said the bearish performance reflected profit-taking activities and sustained pressure on large-cap stocks across key sectors of the market.