The Nigeria equities market halted its gaining streak to close on a downward note, yesterday, as the index dipped by 0.2 per cent amid losses in 28 stocks.
At the close of transactions yesterday, the all-share index (ASI) declined by 123.28 points, representing a loss of 0.12 per cent to close at 101,239.1 points.
Also, market capitalisation depreciated by N67 billion to close at N55.397 trillion.
The downtrend was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are Stanbic IBTC Holdings, PZ Cussons Nigeria, Wema Bank, Access Holdings and Transnational Corporation (Transcorp).
Analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “We have seen a gradual improvement in market breadth, as sell-offs moderate across the board. However, with a WTD loss of 424bps, we expect a negative weekly close tomorrow.”
Market breadth closed negative as 20 stocks gained relative to 28 decliners.
SUNU Assurance and Omatek Venture recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N2.09 kobo and 77 kobo respectively, while Juli followed with a gain of 9.79 per cent to close at N2.13 kobo.
Caverton Offshore Support Group rose by 9.52 per cent to close at N1.84 kobo, while NEM Insurance appreciated by 9.09 per cent to close at N6.60 kobo.
On the other hand, DAAR Communications led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at 72 kobo while Wema Bank followed with a decline of 9.93 per cent to close at N7.80 kobo. PZ Cussons Nigeria lost 9.89 per cent to close at N24.60 kobo.
Academy Press depreciated by 9.84 per cent to close at N1.74, while Morison Industries declined by 9.76 per cent to close at N1.85 kobo.
The total volume traded declined by 16.43 per cent to 252.997 million units, valued at N4.944 billion, and exchanged in 7,248 deals.
Transactions in the shares of FBN Holdings (FBNH) topped the activity chart with 31.858 million shares valued at N917.272 million. United Bank for Africa (UBA) followed with 22.281 million shares worth N533.24 million.
Access Holdings traded 14.489 million shares valued at N312.144 million.
Prestige Assurance traded 13.591 million shares valued at N8.032 million, while Zenith Bank sold 12.539 million shares worth N447.675 million.
