By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited suffered a 0.06 per cent loss on Wednesday on consistent profit-taking triggered by a waning appetite for local equities.
The All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 56.43 points to 97,774.22 points from the 97,830.65 points recorded in the preceding session, and the market capitalisation declined by N32 billion to N55.514 trillion from the N55.546 trillion posted a day earlier.
The consumer goods sector shrank by 0.76 per cent, the industrial goods counter depreciated by 0.02 per cent, the insurance index appreciated by 1.46 per cent, the banking space increased by 0.57 per cent, and the energy counter gained 0.04 per cent.
A total of 29 shares depreciated yesterday and 27 shares appreciated at the close of business, indicating a negative market breadth index and bearish investor sentiment.
The trio of Cutix, NAHCO, and Julius Berger lost 10.00 per cent each to settle at N5.13, N35.10, and N13.50, respectively, Nigerian Breweries depreciated by 9.82 per cent to N25.25, and SCOA Nigeria shed 9.77 per cent to N1.94.
On the flip side, the trio of Industrial and Medical Gases, University Press, and Veritas Kapital gained 10.00 per cent each to close at N14.30, N2.42, and 99 Kobo, respectively, Cornerstone Insurance rose by 9.63 per cent to N2.05, and Academy Press improved by 9.50 per cent to N1.96.
Investors bought and sold 1.8 billion equities valued at N23.1 billion in 10,847 deals compared with the 399.4 million equities worth N8.0 billion in 10,447 deals transacted on Tuesday, implying a surge in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 360.25 per cent, 188.75 per cent, and 3.83 per cent apiece.
On top of the activity log was Fidelity Bank with 1.3 billion equities sold for N14.0 billion, Zenith Bank traded 83.9 million shares for N2.8 billion, Veritas Kapital transacted 45.4 million stocks worth N44.6 million, Oando transacted 43.1 million shares valued at N1.1 billion, and UBA traded 35.3 million equities valued at N701.7 million.
