Equities market loses N2trn in 2days as investors book profits

As bearish sentiments persist at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Wednesday, investors lost N2 trillion in just two days, halting the momentum that pushed key performance indicators upward.

Trading activities closed on a negative note on Wednesday due to profit-taking in some stocks that recently gained investors’ attention at the local bourse.

Sell pressures were observed in Guinness Nigeria, Conoil, Transnational Corporation and Stanbic IBTC Financial Holdings, among others.

Thus, the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) dropped 0.73 percent to close at 144,566.28 basis points, reducing the year-to-date return to 37.54 percent.

Consequently, investors saw a N662.5 billion decline in market value, with total market capitalization falling to N89.56 trillion.

Market sentiment was subdued, evidenced by a negative breadth with 18 stocks gaining compared to 50 declining.

Austin and Laz topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 10.00 percent, trailed by Champion Breweries, NCR, Multiverse Ventures, Enamel Wares, Daar Communication and 12 others.

In addition, the market sectoral performance was negative. The insurance sector dropped by -7.20 percent, followed by the consumer goods sector, down by -1.90 percent; the banking sector fell by -1.22 percent, and the industrial sector fell by -0.01 percent . The Oil & Gas recorded a positive growth of +0.11 percent .

Also, market activities nosedived as the total volume and total value of all trades consummated at NGX decreased by -29.37 percent and -25.79 percent, respectively.

By the end of the day’s trading sessions, approximately 721.82 million units valued at N12,936.76 million were transacted across 28,745 deals.

In terms of volume, Champion Breweries led the activity chart, accounting for 7.58 percent of the total volume of all trades, followed by Universal Insurance, Royal Exchange, Regal Insurance and AIICO Insurance rounding out the top five.

Zenith Bank emerged as the most traded stock in value terms, accounting for 9.86 percent of the total value of all trades consummated on the exchange.

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