Lagos equities drop 0.19% as Presco, bank heavyweights drag index
Profit-taking in Presco and major banks pulled the Nigerian benchmark index down 0.19%, wiping out N305.82 billion in value despite broad buying interest across smaller equities.
The Nigerian stock market snapped a two-session winning streak on Friday as selling pressure in major lenders and a leading agricultural firm erased N305.82 billion in shareholder value. The benchmark NGX All-Share Index fell 0.19% to close at 247,357.40 points, pulling the year-to-date return back to 58.96%.
Presco Plc triggered the steepest losses, crashing by its daily limit of 10% to finish at N2,070.00. However, the broader decline was primarily a banking sector phenomenon. Fidelity Bank and UBA dropped 4.55% and 4.37% respectively, while CWG fell 4.15%. Even marginal pullbacks in the market’s largest financial institutions dictated the session's direction. First HoldCo, GTCO, Zenith Bank, and Access Holdings all posted slight declines, yet their massive capitalisation weights ensured they dragged the benchmark into negative territory.
Beneath the headline index drop, underlying market sentiment remained resilient. Market breadth was firmly positive, with 33 stocks advancing against just 25 decliners. The Chapel Hill Denham Nigeria Infrastructure Fund gained 10% to close at N127.60, surpassing its 52-week high. Honeywell Flour Mill and C&I Leasing also posted notable gains.
This divergence highlights a structural vulnerability in the Nigerian bourse: its heavy reliance on a handful of financial heavyweights. Friday’s session proved that broad buying interest in mid-cap and fundamentally sound smaller companies cannot easily offset profit-taking in the mega-cap banking tier.
Trading activity showed mixed signals. While the number of individual deals surged 19.47% to 55,282, overall volume dropped 21.45% to 614.55 million shares. Total market turnover fell sharply by 41.47% to N32.95 billion.
Access Holdings dominated the volume leaderboard with 128.01 million units traded, accounting for 20.83% of the market's total activity. Aradel Holdings led by value, recording N6.62 billion in trades. Heavy institutional interest was also evident in First HoldCo, which moved 35.38 million shares worth N4.33 billion, and Zenith Bank, which traded 30.42 million units valued at N3.85 billion.
For investors, the session underscores the mechanical risk of index-tracking in Lagos. The market's nearly 59% year-to-date rally remains intact, but portfolio managers must weigh the risk that continued rotation out of high-flying bank stocks will mask the underlying strength of the wider equity market.
