The Nigerian Exchange closed mixed today, with bearish sentiment dominating as decliners outnumbered advancers. Banking and insurance stocks recorded some of the biggest moves, while several major blue-chip names remained unchanged.
NEIMETH led the gainers, jumping 9.66% to ₦7.95 on more than 1 million shares traded. NEM Insurance also gained strongly, rising 6.67% to ₦32.00, while REGALINS and LINKASSURE advanced 6.25% and 5.62%, respectively.
On the losing side, FIDSON Healthcare plunged 9.99% to ₦84.20, while FTN COCOA fell 9.94% to ₦7.79. OMATEK, LIVESTOCK FEEDS, and ZICHIS also recorded sharp declines of more than 7%.
In banking, FIRST HOLDCO was the most actively traded stock, with 88.9 million shares changing hands. It gained 0.86% to ₦129.00. ZENITH BANK fell 2.13% to ₦119.40, while UBA slipped 0.67%. ACCESS HOLDINGS and FIDELITY BANK, however, posted modest gains.
Insurance stocks also saw heavy activity. FTGINSURE recorded a massive 134 million shares traded despite falling 4.39% to ₦1.96. VERITASKAP dropped 7.81%, while WAPIC remained flat at ₦2.00.
Among the market's heavyweights, MTNN, DANGOTE CEMENT, BUA CEMENT, ARADEL HOLDINGS, and SEPLAT ENERGY all closed unchanged.
Overall, today's session reflected cautious investor sentiment, with significant selling pressure in several mid- and small-cap stocks while major blue-chip counters largely held their ground.
