By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Trading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed 1.84 percent lower on Friday due to profit taking by investors, reversing the two-day gain.
Dangote Cement led the losers today with N8.19k drop in the share value to settle at N205.80k per share.
It was closely followed by Total Plc, which lost M7.10k to finish at N225 per share, and Nigerian Breweries, which depreciated by N5.55k to close at N175 per share.
In the same vein, PZ Cussons fell by 99k to end at N25 per share, while Forte Oil went down by 90k to wrap the day at N47.90k per share.
Business Post reports that the volume of transactions and the value closed slightly higher today.
At the close of trade on Friday, investors staked N3 billion on 160 million shares transacted in 3,367 deals, compared with N2.7 billion staked on 128.3 million shares on Thursday exchanged in 3,241 deals.
However, market breadth still remained negative as the NSE closed with 29 losers and 11 gainers.
The gainers’ table was led by International Breweries, which grew by N1.42k to close at N38.95k per share.
It was trailed by Guinness Nigeria, which advanced by N1.25k to finish at N96.65k per share, and Flour Mills of Nigeria, which progressed by 40k to end at N27.40k per share.
Transcorp Hotel gained 34k today to rise to N7.21k per share, while Access Bank moved up by 20k to settle at N9.90k per share.
A look at the major market indicators showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 654.47 points to close at 35,005.57 points, while the market capitalisation declined by N225.6 billion to settle at N12 trillion, and the year-to-date return trimmed to 30.26 percent.
But financial stocks still remained investors’ toast at the market on Friday with Fidelity Bank selling the highest volume of shares, exchanging 24.6 million units worth N32 million.
FBN Holdings traded 14.3 million shares valued at N79.6 million, while Access Bank transacted 13.7 million shares for N132.9 million.
In addition, Zenith Bank moved 12.6 million shares worth N280.4 million, and Africa Prudential traded 11.6 million shares at N36.7 million.
