The local equities market closed lower today, down 68bps to settle at 103,851.88 points, as dividend markdowns in banking stocks dragged the index into negative territory. GTCO (-11.94%) and Zenith Bank (-11.65%) led the losses, both adjusting for final dividends of ₦7.03 and ₦4.00 respectively. Fidelity Bank (-0.55%) also traded ex-dividend for a ₦1.25 payout. Additional pressure came from Custodian (-5.62%), Oando (-0.92%), and FCMB (-1.09%).
On the flip side, selective buying in a few key counters helped cushion the broader decline. First HoldCo (+2.46%), Transcorp (+1.22%), Nigerian Breweries (+2.65%), UBA (+0.48%), and NGX Group (+7.30%) all posted gains. Accesscorp (+0.47%) saw mild upside following the release of its FY 2024 results and a proposed final dividend of ₦2.05.
Market turnover came in strong at ₦13.7 billion ($8.6 million), driven by fragmented block trades in Geregu, totaling over ₦5.1 billion — though the stock did not print any price change. Other notable activity flowed through GTCO, Accesscorp, UBA, and Zenith Bank.