The key performance indices of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited moderated by 0.05 per cent on Thursday as a result of selling pressure by investors.
The sell-offs were mainly from the consumer goods and banking sectors, which contracted by 0.23 per cent and 0.17 per cent, respectively.
It was observed that the insurance counter closed higher by 0.73 per cent, the energy index appreciated by 0.10 per cent, and the industrial goods space was up by 0.09 per cent.
However, they could not prevent the bourse from crumbling at the close of business.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) shrank by 113.47 points to 244,738.74 points from 244,852.21 points, and the market capitalisation slipped by N73 billion to N156.970 trillion from N157.043 trillion.
International Energy Insurance crashed by 10.00 per cent to N7.11, May and Baker stumbled by 8.51 per cent to N43.00, Tripple Gee contracted by 8.47 per cent to N4.00, Abbey Mortgage Bank slumped by 7.69 per cent to N11.40, and AXA Mansard dipped by 6.67 per cent to N12.60.
Conversely, Consolidated Hallmark improved by 10.00 per cent to N8.25, Learn Africa surged by 10.00 per cent to N11.00, Nigerian Enamelware was elevated by 10.00 per cent to N40.70, University Press chalked up 10.00 per cent to finish at N5.50, and ABC Transport gained 8.25 per cent to end at N7.80.
A total of 31 stocks were on the gainers’ chart, and 33 stocks were on the losers’ table, indicating a negative market breadth index and bearish investor sentiment.
On the activity chart, market participants bought and sold 1.7 billion equities valued at N52.8 billion in 49,807 deals, in contrast to the 1.2 billion equities worth N38.8 billion traded in 54,193 deals at midweek. This showed that the trading volume was up by 41.67 per cent, the trading value was up by 36.08 per cent, and the number of deals was down by 8/09 per cent.
The most active stock yesterday was FCMB with a turnover of 584.7 million units worth N5.9 billion, Access Holdings sold 579.8 million units for N14.0 billion, UBA exchanged 107.0 million units valued at N4.6 billion, NGX Group transacted 49.1 million units worth N6.7 billion, and AIICO Insurance traded 30.1 million units for N134.2 million.
