By David Akinmola
After six straight sessions of gains, Nigeria’s equities market lost momentum on Thursday, June 26, 2025, as the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 0.4% to close at 120,772.68 points, halting its winning streak amid profit-taking and negative sentiment in key blue-chip counters.
The bearish turn was largely driven by a steep 6.46% drop in BUA Foods, Nigeria’s second-largest listed company by market capitalization. The decline shaved off ₦300 billion in market value, pulling the overall market capitalization down to ₦76.4 trillion from ₦76.7 trillion.
Despite the negative close, trading activity remained upbeat, with 892 million shares exchanged in 25,375 deals, surpassing the previous day’s volume of 861.6 million shares.
Bright spots emerged as UNILEVER and SFSREIT topped the gainers’ chart, each advancing by the maximum 10.00%, closing at ₦51.70 and ₦249.25 respectively. Other top gainers included NEIMETH (+9.98%), UACN (+9.97%), and CAP (+9.92%).
On the downside, THOMASWY plunged 10.00% to ₦2.07, while NAHCO shed 9.99% to close at ₦91.00. OANDO, ABCTRANS, and CHAMPION also featured among the session’s worst performers.
Volume-wise, ELLAHLAKES led the chart with 113.4 million shares traded, followed by ACCESSCORP (76.1 million) and CAVERTON (64.8 million). JAPAULGOLD and FIDELITYBK completed the top five with 61.5 million and 60.3 million shares, respectively.
Trading Value Leaders
In terms of market turnover, ZENITHBANK led with trades valued at ₦3.4 billion, while GTCO and ACCESSCORP posted ₦1.9 billion and ₦1.7 billion, respectively. ELLAHLAKES recorded ₦851 million, and MTNN followed with ₦762.6 million.
Among the SWOOTs (Stocks Worth Over One Trillion Naira), performance was mixed. BUA Cement rose 5.90%, and International Breweries gained 5.73%. In contrast, BUA Foods dropped 6.46%, MTNN dipped 0.14%, and WAPCO declined marginally by 0.11%.
The FUGAZ banking stocks also saw mixed results. ZENITHBANK edged up 0.52%, GTCO was unchanged, while First Bank Holdings (-3.28%), ACCESSCORP (-1.95%), and UBA (-0.83%) all closed lower.
Though the market slipped into negative territory, the ASI remains above the 120,000 psychological mark, suggesting a degree of resilience. Analysts anticipate that strong investor interest—especially in bellwether stocks—could keep the uptrend alive in the near term, barring further large-cap declines.
With the year-to-date return now at +17.34%, attention turns to macroeconomic cues and earnings expectations that may influence near-term market sentiment.
