Equity market records N344.95bn loss
Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Tuesday closed on a negative note as investors lost N344.95bn, with the decline marking a downturn, tripling the market’s previous gains.
The All-Share Index fell by 0.51 per cent to settle at 106,904.25 points from the previous close of 107,455.13 points. This brought the year-to-date gain to 3.91 per cent, while both the month-to-date and week-to-date performances stood at negative 0.85 per cent.
Market capitalisation, which measures the total value of listed equities, closed at N66.943tn, reflecting the heavy sell-offs that dominated the trading session.
A total of 395.47 million shares valued at N8.76bn were exchanged in 13,967 deals, indicating sustained volatility in the market.
Investor sentiment remained weak as the market breadth closed negative, with 44 stocks recording losses against 17 gainers.
Additionally, Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust emerged as the top gainer, appreciating by 9.94 per cent to close at N48.65 from the previous N44.25. NEM Insurance followed with an 8.78 per cent increase, closing at N14.25 from N13.10. Ikeja Hotel rose by 8.72 per cent to settle at N11.85, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance gained 6.76 per cent to close at N3.95. Livestock Feeds also recorded a 4.53 per cent increase to end trading at N7.85 per share.
On the losers’ table, Transcorp suffered the biggest decline, shedding 10 per cent to close at N51.30 from the previous N57.00. Dangote Sugar also dropped by 10 per cent, settling at N36.00 from N40.00. Eterna fell by 10 per cent to N37.80, while Guinea Insurance and Deap Capital both declined by 10 per cent each to close at N0.63 and N0.90 per share, respectively.
In terms of volume, United Capital led with 40.53 million shares traded, followed by Ellah Lakes, Zenith Bank, Universal Insurance, and Access Corporation. Meanwhile, Zenith Bank recorded the highest value of traded stocks at N1.23bn, followed by GTCO, United Capital, Aradel Holdings, and UBA.
The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian Exchange recorded a boost on Monday as Fidelity Bank Plc’s listing of additional shares increased the market capitalisation by N94bn.
