By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigerian equities market remained in negative territory on Wednesday as investors lost N74 billion amid sustained sell pressure across major stocks.
Market capitalisation on the Nigerian Exchange Limited declined from N124.827 trillion at the opening of trading to N124.753 trillion at the close, representing a drop of N75 billion or 0.06 per cent.NGX Chairman advocates listing of state-owned firms to boost capital market liquidity
Similarly, the All-Share Index fell by 114.41 points, or 0.06 per cent, to close at 194,370.20, compared to 194,484.61 recorded on Tuesday.
Despite the dip, the Year-To-Date return stood at 24.91 per cent.
The downturn was largely driven by losses in 54 stocks against 22 gainers, reflecting negative market breadth.
Leading the losers’ chart were RT Briscoe and ABC Transport, which both declined by 10 per cent to close at N10.35 and N6.75 per share, respectively.
Skyway Aviation Handling Company trailed with a 9.98 per cent drop to close at N139.35 per share, while Vitafoam Nigeria Plc and Haldane McCall Plc fell by 9.93 per cent each, settling at N112.50 and N3.99 per share, respectively.
On the gainers’ side, Jaiz Bank Plc led with a 9.95 per cent increase to close at N14.03 per share. Okomu Oil Palm Plc followed with a 9.93 per cent rise to N1,765, while Trans-Nationwide Express Plc gained 9.77 per cent to finish at N2.36 per share.Weak AI governance could trigger capital flight, NGX chairman warns
Fortis Global Insurance Plc advanced by 9.72 per cent to close at 79k, and Champion Breweries Plc appreciated by 5.39 per cent to settle at N17.60 per share.
In terms of activity, a total of 1.4 billion shares valued at N46.2 billion were traded in 70,222 transactions.
This compares with 1.1 billion shares worth N53.4 billion exchanged in 72,218 deals on Tuesday, indicating a decline in transaction value and number of deals, despite an increase in traded volume.
Fortis Global Insurance recorded the highest volume of the day with 193.69 million shares traded, accounting for 14.27 per cent of total volume, while Zenith Bank Plc posted the highest value at N11.07 billion, representing 24.40 per cent of total traded value.
