By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Losses recorded by stocks in the Consumer Goods sector brought an end to the three-day bullish run at the Nigerian equity market on Thursday.
Leading the pack today was Nigerian Breweries, which went down N4.77k to settle at N145.23k per share.
It was closely followed by International Breweries, which depreciated by N1.1k to close at N48.99k per share, and Unilever, which fell by N1 to finish at N40 per share.
In addition, PZ Cussons deflated by 91k to end at N21.70k per share, while Dangote Cement lost 50k to wrap the day at N227 per share.
Business Post reports that trading resumed on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with investors in high spirits due to the recent positive momentum, however, some traders quickly capitalised on the gains in the past three days to take profit.
At the close of transactions, the stock market declined marginally by 0.03 percent, with the year-to-date return finishing at 37.22 percent.
However, the volume of equities exchanged by investors increased today by 27.59 percent, while the valued decreased by 24.07 percent.
A total of 318.2 million shares worth N3.9 billion were transacted on Thursday at the market in contrast to 249.4 million shares valued at N5.2 billion traded on Wednesday.
The Financial Services sector still led the activity chart with 224.375 million shares exchanged for N2.167 billion, while the Healthcare sector followed with 60.583 million shares exchanged at N0.039 billion.
A breakdown showed FBN Holdings emerging the most traded shares in terms of volume, exchanging 73.4 million units for N513.2 million.
It was trailed by Union Diagnostic & Clinical Services, which sold 58 million shares for N29 million, and UBA, which traded 32 million shares worth N316.7 million.
Fidelity Bank exchanged 19.8 million at N31 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 17.2 million shares at N441.2 million.
Despite the NSE closing bearish today, the market breadth ended positive with 27 stocks appreciating in price, against 18 equities, which depreciated.
The gaining stocks were led by Flour Mills of Nigeria, which grew by N1.58k to settle at N33.69k per share.
It was followed by FBN Holdings, which appreciated by 60k to close at N7.11k per share, and NASCON, which rose by 45k to finish at N16 per share.
UBA advanced by 39k to close at N10 per share, while Dangote Sugar garnered 28k to settle at N15.50k per share.
A look at the major market indicators showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) lost 10.05 points to close at 36,877.15 points, while the market capitalisation dropped N3.5 billion to finish at N12.8 trillion.
