The benchmark index fell by 2bps as profit-taking actions in ZENITHBANK and FBNH caused the Nigerian stock market to trade in a negative manner. In the wake of lackluster purchasing emotions on the local stock exchange, Zenith saw a 1.8% decline in value while FBNH fell by 0.9%.
The All Share Index (ASI) therefore dropped by 8.83 points, or 0.02 percent, to settle at 51,944.58 from 51,953.41 on Wednesday. The market capitalization also decreased by N5 billion (or 0.02 percent) to settle at N28.295 trillion, down from N28.3 trillion the previous day.
Losses in medium and large capitalized stocks, including May & Baker Nigeria, Zenith Bank, Nigerian Exchange Group, Fidelity Bank, and Africa Prudential, had an influence on the downturn. In addition, the market breadth ended down, with 18 gains and 21 losses. The largest price increase, 10%, was reported by Transnational Corporation (Transcorp), which closed at N1.54 per share.
Wapic Insurance closed next with a gain of 9.69% to reach 42k, while Champion Breweries increased by 7.64% to reach N4.93 per share. Prestige Insurance increased by 5.26 percent to close at 40k per share, while Mutual Benefits Assurance increased by 6.25 percent to close at 34k. Nonetheless, May & Baker Nigeria, which closed at N4.05 per share, per share, led the losers’ table by 10%.
Ikeja Hotel was the next to close, falling 9.24% to N1.08, and Multiverse Mining and Exploration lost 7.60 per cent to close at N2.31, per share. Academy Press lost 6.67 per cent to close at N1.26, while NPF Microfinance Bank shed 6.32 per cent to close at N1.78, per share. However, the total volume traded rose by 18.72 per cent to 302.920 million units, valued at N2.023 billion, and exchanged in 3,743 deals.
Transactions in the shares of Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) topped the activity chart with 107.213 million shares valued at N162.832 million. Fidelity Bank followed with 39.31 million shares worth N206.01 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 22.60 million shares valued at N190.36 million.
Zenith Bank traded 20.61 million shares valued at N521.29 million, while FCMB Group transacted 12.61 million shares worth N47.83 million. Performance across sectors was mixed, as the Banking (-1.1%) and Insurance (-0.3%) indices declined, while the Industrial Goods (+0.2%) and Consumer Goods (+0.1%) indices advanced. On the other hand, the Oil & Gas index closed flat.
