Investors Lose N386bn to Profit-Taking as Index Drops 1.31%

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated by 1.31 per cent on Friday after being subjected to profit-taking by investors desperate to book profit.

Data showed that the banking index went down by 1.27 per cent as the industrial goods space declined by 0.05 per cent.

However, the insurance sector appreciated by 0.48 per cent, while the consumer goods counter increased by 0.13 per cent, with the energy space closing flat.

At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 715.74 points to settle at 53,804.46 points, in contrast to the previous day’s 54,520.20 points, as the market capitalisation shed N386 billion to finish at N29.310 trillion compared with Thursday’s N29.696 trillion.

The market breadth was negative yesterday after 18 stocks shed weight, while 13 equities appreciated in value, indicating a weak investor sentiment.

Pharma-Deko was the worst-performing stock on Friday after it went down by 10.00 per cent to N1.89, RT Briscoe declined by 6..67 per cent to 28 Kobo, Airtel Africa slumped by 6.02 per cent to N1,560.00, Fidelity Bank shrank by 5.37 per cent to N4.76, and FCMB depreciated by 3.82 per cent to N4.28.

On the flip side, Tripple Gee ended the session as the best-performing equity after it chalked up 9.94 per cent to trade at N1.99, Coronation Insurance grew by 9.76 per cent to 45 Kobo, Living Trust Mortgage Bank expanded by 5.99 per cent to N2.30, UPDC rose by 4.17 per cent to N1.00, and Lasaco Assurance increased by 4.08 per cent to N1.02.

FBN Holdings was the most active stock as it transacted 47.4 million units, Zenith Bank traded 16.9 million units, Access Holdings exchanged 13.6 million units, Fidelity Bank sold 10.5 million, and Transcorp traded 10.5 million.

When the market closed for the session, a total of 172.9 million shares worth N3.8 billion were traded in 3,077 deals compared with the 125.9 million shares worth N3.6 billion traded in 2,670 deals a day earlier, indicating an increase in the trading volume, value and the number of deals by 37.33 per cent, 5.56 per cent, and 15.24 per cent, respectively.