By Dipo Olowookere
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) remained bearish on Wednesday as investors continue to take profit as a result of macro-economic conditions in the country and across the globe.
At the midweek trading session, the stock market was down by 0.42 percent, stretching the year-to-date loss to 12.79 percent. This poor performance was mainly influenced by equities in the insurance and industrial sectors.
At the close of transactions yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 115.27 points to settle at 27,412.13 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N56.2 billion to close at N13.359 trillion.
Dangote Cement was the heaviest price loser on Wednesday, shedding N3 from its share value to finish at N165 per unit.
It was followed by Red Star Express, which fell by 52 kobo to end at N4.76k per share, and Flour Mills, which depreciated by 30 kobo to exchange at N15.30k per unit.
In addition, Zenith Bank declined by 25 kobo to trade at N17.75k per share, while Union Bank went down by 15 kobo to sell at N6.75k each.
At the other side, Conoil emerged as the most performing stock at the market on Wednesday, adding N1.05k to its share price to close at N17.65k per unit.
Dangote Floor gained 35 kobo to finish at N20.35k per share, MTN Nigeria improved by 30 kobo to end at N128.30k per unit, Access Bank appreciated by 10 kobo to close at N6.30k per share, while CCNN also rose by 10 kobo to end at N13.55k per share.
Unlike in the previous session, the volume and value of shares transacted by investors decreased by 24.46 percent and 47.77 percent respectively.
The volume of transactions decreased yesterday to 129 million from 170.7 million in the previous session, while the value reduced to N1.2 billion from N2.3 billion.
The most active equity at the market during the midweek session was FBN Holdings, selling a total of 30.9 million units worth N162.1 million.
It was followed by Transcorp, which exchanged 16 million units valued at N14.6 million, and FCMB, which transacted 11 million shares for N18.7 million.
Access Bank traded 9 million equities worth N56.4 million, while Zenith Bank exchanged 8.3 million shares worth N148.6 million.
Adedapo Adesanya