Profit-taking activity in GEREGU (-6.5%) and ZENITHBANK (-4.6%) triggered a 0.5% decrease in the All-Share Index to 55,490.20 points, extending the market’s downward trend.
On Wednesday, the equity market continued its dismal streak as investors began to rebalance their portfolios, beginning with selling rallies in Geregu and banking stocks. The All-Share Index fell 232.70 points, or 0.42 percent, to 55,490.20 basis points, down from 55,722.90 basis points on Tuesday.
Losses in medium and big capitalised equities, such as Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO), and Geregu Power, contributed to the decline.
As a result, year-to-date returns have moderated to 8.27 percent. United Capital, on the other hand, led the losers’ list in percentage terms, closing at N11.70 per share. Universal Press closed at N1.85 per share, up 7.50 percent.
Glaxosmith dropped 7.46 percent to N6.20 per share, while Neimeth fell 7.01 percent to N1.46 per share. Prestige Assurance, on the other hand, lead the gainers’ chart in percentage terms, rising 7.89% to close at 41k per share.
Veritas Kapital followed with a 5% gain to end at 21k, while NGX Group dropped 4.87 percent to settle at N28 per share. Unilever fell 3.7% to N14, while Japaul and Ventures rose by 3.57per cent to close at 29k, per share. GTCO topped the activity chart with an exchange of 33.85 million shares valued at N841.95 million.
Transcorp followed with 21.13 million shares worth N26.62 million, while Zenith Bank traded 18.56 million shares valued at N454.67 million. Flour Mills sold 18.49 million shares worth N537.14 million, while United Bank for Africa UBA) transacted 21.97 million shares worth N5.33 million.
In all, the total volume of shares traded dropped by nine per cent as investors bought and sold 181.19 million shares worth N3.41 billion in 3,908 deals. Overall, the equities market capitalisation lost N67 billion to close at N30.228 trillion compared to N30.355 trillion recorded on Tuesday.
On sectors, the Banking (-2.0%) and Consumer Goods (-0.3%) indices declined, while the Industrial Goods and Oil & Gas indices closed flat. The Insurance (+0.4%) index was the sole gainer for the day.
