By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigerian stock market reversed three consecutive sessions of gains on Tuesday as investors lost about N889 billion amid renewed profit-taking ahead of the Eid-el-Kabir holiday.
Market capitalisation declined by 0.55 per cent to close at N160.094 trillion, down from N160.982 trillion recorded in the previous session.
Likewise, the All-Share Index dropped by 1,386.18 points, representing a 0.55 per cent decline, to settle at 249,738.84 compared to 251,125.02 posted on Monday.
The negative performance was largely driven by sell-offs in selected large-cap and mid-cap stocks, which outweighed buying interest across the market.
As a result, the market’s Year-to-Date return moderated to 60.49 per cent, while market breadth closed negative with 38 losers against 19 gainers.
On the losers’ table, Dangote Sugar recorded the highest decline, shedding 10 per cent to close at N78.30 per share.
Transcorp Power followed with a 9.97 per cent loss to settle at N245.50, while The Initiates Plc dropped by 9.85 per cent to close at N27.45 per share.
Abbey Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.49 per cent to N6.20, while Fidelity Bank lost 9.05 per cent to close at N21.60 per share.
On the gainers’ chart, FG212035S1 appreciated by 10.49 per cent to close at N124.86 per share.
Mc Nichols and Austinlaz gained 10 per cent each to settle at N7.92 and N4.40 respectively.
International Energy Insurance rose by 9.89 per cent to N4.11, while Learn Africa advanced by 9.44 per cent to close at N12.75 per share.
Trading activity also weakened during the session as total traded volume declined by 10.38 per cent to 564.07 million shares valued at N27.22 billion exchanged in 65,666 deals.
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Access Corporation emerged as the most traded stock by volume with 80.61 million shares, representing 14.29 per cent of the total volume traded.
Zenith Bank led the value chart with transactions worth N4.47 billion, accounting for 16.41 per cent of the market’s total traded value.
