The Nigerian stock market reversed the previous session’s gains on Wednesday, with investors losing N648 billion as renewed selloffs in large and medium-cap stocks dragged the market lower.
Market capitalization fell by 0.41 per cent to N159.344 trillion, down from N159.992 trillion recorded on Tuesday. The All-Share Index also declined by 1,004.38 points, or 0.41 per cent, to close at 246,980.17, compared with 247,984.55 in the previous session.
The downturn was driven by profit-taking in several blue-chip and mid-cap stocks, including Cornerstone Insurance, Legend Internet Plc, The Initiates Plc, Guinea Insurance and ABC Transport, alongside 40 other declining equities. As a result, the market’s year-to-date return weakened to 58.71 per cent.
Market breadth closed negative, with 45 losers against 23 gainers, reflecting the bearish sentiment among investors.
Cornerstone Insurance and Legend Internet topped the losers’ chart, each shedding 10 per cent to close at N5.40 and N4.05 per share, respectively.
Also Read: Bullish stock market gains N1.86tn
The Initiates Plc declined by 9.91 per cent to close at N30.00, Guinea Insurance fell 9.78 per cent to 83 kobo, while ABC Transport dropped 9.45 per cent to N5.75 per share.
On the gainers’ chart, Lasaco Assurance led with a 10 per cent increase to close at N2.42 per share. Coronation Infrastructure Fund rose 9.98 per cent to N154.30, while NEM Insurance gained 9.97 per cent to N34.20 per share.
Sunu Assurances advanced by 9.83 per cent to N3.91, while Prestige Assurance appreciated by 7.14 per cent to close at N1.50 per share.
Trading activity strengthened during the session, with total volume rising 12.11 per cent to 758.87 million shares valued at N33.79 billion, exchanged in 55,251 deals.
FCMB led the volume chart with 92.44 million shares, accounting for 12.18 per cent of total traded volume. First Holdco recorded the highest value of trades at N8.77 billion, representing 25.94 per cent of the total market value traded.
NAN
