By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited returned to the danger zone on Wednesday after it closed lower by 0.09 per cent as a result of a mild sell-off in some large-cap stocks like MTN Nigeria, FBN Holdings, Lafarge Africa, UBA and others.
The selling pressure weakened the All-Share Index (ASI) of the exchange by 62.57 points to 71,003.98 points from 71,066.55 points and pushed down the market capitalisation by N34 billion to N39.048 trillion from N39.082 trillion.
The heaviest price loser for the day was C&I Leasing, which shed 7.56 per cent to close at N5.26, Prestige Assurance lost 7.55 per cent to trade at 49 Kobo, International Breweries fell by 5.56 per cent to N4.25, UPDC REIT declined by 4.60 per cent to N4.15, and FBN Holdings shrank by 4.00 per cent to N19.20.
On the flip side, the trio of Unity Bank, DAAR Communications, and RT Briscoe dominated the gainers’ chart after they gained 10.00 per cent each to settle at N1.54, 33 Kobo, and 66 Kobo apiece, as MeCure grew by 9.96 per cent to N7.62 and Multiverse increased by 9.82 per cent to N4.81.
Business Post observed that at the close of transactions, despite the mild profit-taking, investor sentiment remained bullish as the market breadth index was positive with 36 appreciating equities and 15 depreciating equities.
The selling pressure was mainly on the consumer goods and the industrial goods sectors, which closed lower by 0.19 per cent and 0.08 per cent apiece. The insurance index rose by 0.75 per cent and the banking counter grew by 0.19 per cent, while the energy sector remained flat.
Traders bought and sold 428.4 million shares worth N7.4 billion in 6,677 deals in the midweek session compared with the 491.4 million shares worth N3.2 billion traded in 6,549 deals on Tuesday, representing a decline in the trading volume by 12.82 per cent, an increase in the trading value and the number of deals by 131.25 per cent and 1.95 per cent, respectively.
Veritas Kapital topped the activity chart with the sale of 62.1 million shares valued at N22.9 million, Unity Bank traded 38.7 million equities worth N59.4 million, GTCO exchanged 33.9 million stocks valued at N1.3 billion, UBA sold 19.7 million shares for N407.4 million, and Jaiz Bank transacted 19.1 million stocks worth N30.6 million.
