Stock market declines by N648bn

The Nigerian stock market closed lower on Wednesday, wiping out the previous session’s gains as renewed profit-taking in major stocks erased N648 billion from investors’ wealth.

The market capitalisation dropped by 0.41 per cent to N159.344 trillion, down from N159.992 trillion recorded on Tuesday.

Likewise, the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 1,004.38 points, or 0.41 per cent, to settle at 246,980.17 compared with 247,984.55 in the previous trading session.

The bearish performance was largely driven by selloffs in blue-chip and medium-cap stocks, with Cornerstone Insurance, Legend Internet Plc, The Initiates Plc, Guinea Insurance and ABC Transport among the biggest decliners.

As a result, the market’s Year-to-Date return moderated to 58.71 per cent, while market breadth remained negative with 45 losers against 23 gainers.

On the losers’ table, Cornerstone Insurance and Legend Internet each fell by 10 per cent to close at N5.40 and N4.05 per share, respectively. The Initiates lost 9.91 per cent to close at N30, Guinea Insurance declined by 9.78 per cent to 83 kobo, while ABC Transport dropped 9.45 per cent to N5.75 per share.

On the gainers’ chart, Lasaco Assurance appreciated by 10 per cent to N2.42 per share. Coronation Infrastructure Fund advanced by 9.98 per cent to N154.30, while Nem Insurance gained 9.97 per cent to close at N34.20. Sunu Assurances rose by 9.83 per cent to N3.91, and Prestige Assurance added 7.14 per cent to finish at N1.50 per share.

Trading activity improved during the session as investors exchanged 758.87 million shares worth N33.79 billion in 55,251 deals, representing a 12.11 per cent increase in volume over the previous trading day.

FCMB emerged as the most traded stock by volume with 92.44 million shares, accounting for 12.18 per cent of total turnover, while First Holdco recorded the highest value of trades at N8.77 billion, representing 25.94 per cent of the market’s total transaction value.