By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market traded flat on Wednesday, though bearish sentiments persist, caused by sustained profit-taking in the financial and consumer goods sectors.
PZ Cussons ended as the worst-performing equity after its value went down by 10.00 per cent to N34.20, as International Breweries followed with a decline of 9.89 per cent to trade at N3.92. McNichols depreciated by 9.73 per cent to finish at N1.02, Sterling Holdings fell by 9.59 per cent to N4.43, and Linkage Assurance lost 9.41 per cent to 77 Kobo.
On the flip side, Okomu Oil closed as the best-performing stock during the midweek session after it grew by 9.98 per cent to N255.70, Tantalizers appreciated by 8.33 per cent to 39 Kobo, Cutix expanded by 5.26 per cent to N3.00, The Initiates rose by 4.76 per cent to N2.20, and Coronation Insurance gained 4.41 per cent to settle at 71 Kobo.
The sectorial performance at midweek was not encouraging as it was bearish, with the banking space losing 1.03 per cent. The consumer goods index weakened by 0.27 per cent, the industrial goods counter went down by 0.22 per cent, and the insurance sector lost 0.15 per cent, while the energy counter closed flat.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited slightly contracted by 4.53 points to 98,223.97 points from 98,228.50 points, and the market capitalisation shrank by N3 billion to N55.552 trillion from N55.555 trillion.
The activity chart was mixed during the session after the trading volume and the number of deals decreased by 25.04 percent and 15.58 per cent, respectively, while the trading value increased by 9.52 per cent.
A total of 319.1 million stocks valued at N9.2 billion were traded on Wednesday in 8,121 deals, versus the 425.7 million stocks valued at N8.4 billion transacted in 9,620 deals on Tuesday.
UBA maintained its position as the most active equity with the sale of 80.0 million units worth N2.1 billion, Transcorp transacted 38.6 million units valued at N472.4 million, Access Holdings exchanged 34.1 million units worth N594.5 million, GTCO sold 25.2 million units for N968.6 million, and Fidelity Bank traded 12.6 million units valued at N113.0 million.