By Seun Ibiyemi
The Nigerian equities market closed in the red on Wednesday, extending its bearish run to four consecutive trading sessions as investors lost N758 billion amid sustained profit-taking across major stocks.
Market capitalisation declined by N758 billion, or 0.49 per cent, to close at N154.445 trillion, down from N155.203 trillion recorded on Tuesday.
Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) shed 1,182.08 points, representing a 0.49 per cent decline, to settle at 240,802.72 compared to 241,984.80 in the previous trading session.
The downturn weakened the market’s year-to-date return to 54.74 per cent.
The negative performance was driven by sell-offs in large- and mid-capitalised stocks, including Geregu Power, Okomu Oil Palm, Red Star Express, Consolidated Hallmark Holdings and International Energy Insurance, among others.
Market breadth closed firmly negative, with 51 stocks recording losses against 13 gainers.
Geregu Power topped the losers’ chart after shedding 10 per cent to close at N1,019.30 per share. Okomu Oil followed with a 9.97 per cent decline to N1,418, while Red Star Express fell by 9.95 per cent to close at N27.60 per share.
Consolidated Hallmark Holdings dropped by 9.91 per cent to N7.82, while International Energy Insurance lost 9.90 per cent to settle at N5.19 per share.
On the gainers’ table, Neimeth Pharmaceuticals emerged as the best-performing stock, appreciating by 9.47 per cent to close at N9.25 per share.
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Cornerstone Insurance gained 9.26 per cent to settle at N5.90, while VFD Group rose by 7.96 per cent to close at N10.85 per share.
McNichols Plc advanced by 7.14 per cent to N7.50, while Sunu Assurances increased by 3.91 per cent to close at N3.72 per share.
Despite the negative market performance, trading activity improved significantly during the session.
A total of 662.96 million shares valued at N39.98 billion were traded in 51,143 deals, representing a 23.79 per cent increase in volume compared to the previous session.
Access Holdings emerged as the most actively traded stock by volume, accounting for 130.26 million shares or 19.65 per cent of total shares exchanged during the day.
MTN Nigeria led the value chart with transactions worth N8.19 billion, representing 20.48 per cent of the total value traded on the Nigerian Exchange.
Market analysts said investors continued to lock in gains following the market’s strong performance earlier in the year, resulting in widespread profit-taking across key sectors.
