Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited struggled for life on Tuesday as the bears maintained dominance on the bourse by further choking it by 0.29 per cent at the close of trades.
It was the first trading session of the week due to the closure of the market on Monday due to the public holiday declared by the federal government to mark Independence Day.
Business Post reports that traders at the exchange were more interested in trimming their exposure to stocks than acquiring more as a result of inflation eroding their gains in equities.
The banking sector fell by 2.58 per cent, the consumer goods counter depreciated by 0.41 per cent, the energy space went down by 0.34 per cent, while the insurance index appreciated by 0.42 per cent, with the industrial goods sector closing flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) receded by 144.42 points to 48,879.74 points from 49,024.16 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N73 billion to N26.379 trillion from N26.452 trillion.
International Breweries was the worst-performing stock yesterday as it fell by 9.09 per cent to N4.30, Red Star Express lost 7.83 per cent to settle at N2.12, Sovereign Trust Insurance went down by 7.41 per cent to 25 Kobo, Japaul declined by 7.14 per cent to 26 Kobo, and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance fell by 7.02 per cent to settle at 53 Kobo.
The best-performing stock for the session was Multiverse as its value rose by 9.76 per cent to N4.05, RT Briscoe improved by 8.82 per cent to 37 Kobo, NGX Group appreciated by 7.50 per cent to N21.50, AIICO Insurance expanded by 5.77 per cent to 55 Kobo, and Africa Prudential grew by 4.00 per cent to N5.20.
During the session, investors transacted 173.5 million equities worth N2.4 billion in 4,926 deals compared with the 356.7 million equities worth N3.7 billion transacted in 3,219 deals, indicating a decline in the trading volume and value by 51.37 per cent and 36.09 per cent, respectively, and an increase in the number of deals by 53.03 per cent.
