The Nigerian Exchange had a negative outing on Thursday as equities lost N274bn in market value, caused by widespread sell-offs in mid- and large-cap stocks.
At the end of trading, the benchmark All-Share Index of the Nigerian Exchange declined by 435.17 points, or 0.40 per cent, to settle at 109,183.93, reducing the market capitalisation to N68.6 tn from the N68.87 tn recorded in the previous session.
The bearish sentiment persisted despite increased trading activity. A total of 746.95 million shares valued at N18.20bn were exchanged in 26,174 deals, reflecting a 12 per cent improvement in volume, a 40 per cent increase in turnover, and a 35 per cent rise in the number of deals compared to the previous trading day.
In aggregate, 128 listed equities participated in the day’s trading, with 22 gainers and 36 losers. Union Homes Real Estate Investment Trust led the gainers with a 9.97 per cent appreciation to close at N50.75 per share. It was followed by Red Star Express, which rose by 9.91 per cent to close at N6.10; RT Briscoe, which gained 9.57 per cent to N2.29; and Sovereign Trust Insurance, which added 9.37 per cent to close at N1.05.
On the losers’ chart, Chellarams and May and Baker Nigeria suffered the steepest declines, both shedding 9.96 per cent to close at N11.75 each. They were followed by Linkage Assurance, which dropped 9.88 per cent to N1.46; Omatek Ventures, which lost 8.82 per cent to close at N0.62; and McNichols, which declined by 8.70 per cent to N2.10.
Fidelity Bank emerged as the most traded stock by volume with 137 million shares, followed by Japaul Gold and Ventures with 81.7 million shares, United Bank for Africa with 60.8 million shares, and Tantalizers with 43.5 million shares.
Sectoral performance was largely negative. The NGX Top 30 Index dipped by 0.48 per cent, while the Premium Index fell by 0.19 per cent. The NGX Pension Index recorded the steepest decline, down by 0.81 per cent. The Industrial Goods Index shed 0.01 per cent, while the Main Board Index lost 0.50 per cent. The Oil and Gas Index closed flat.
Despite the daily loss, the year-to-date return on remains positive at 6.08 per cent, although the week-to-date performance stands at a loss of 0.26 per cent. The Main Board and Pension indices have returned 7.53 per cent and 13.54 per cent, respectively, so far in the year, indicating pockets of investor optimism in certain segments of the market.
