Nigerian stock market sheds N293bn as sell-offs persist

The Nigerian stock market recorded a loss of N293 billion on Wednesday as sustained profit-taking in several equities pushed market capitalisation down by 0.18 per cent.

The decline followed sell-offs in 29 stocks, including Okomu Oil, Enamelware, NASCON Allied Industries, FTN Cocoa Processors and VFD Group. The losses outweighed gains recorded in 23 other stocks, leaving the market with negative breadth.

Market capitalisation fell to N163.531 trillion from N163.824 trillion recorded on Tuesday, representing a decline of N293 billion.

Similarly, the All-Share Index dropped by 451.92 points, or 0.18 per cent, to close at 251,861.24, compared with 252,313.16 recorded in the previous trading session.

Consequently, the market’s year-to-date return declined to 61.85 per cent, while market breadth closed negative, with 29 losers against 23 gainers.

On the losers’ chart, Okomu Oil led with a 10 per cent decline to close at N1,148.60 per share. Enamelware followed with a 9.96 per cent loss to settle at N33, while NASCON Allied Industries shed 8.99 per cent to close at N167 per share.

FTN Cocoa Processors declined by 8.36 per cent to N6.80, while VFD Group fell by 6.67 per cent to N11.20 per share.

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On the gainers’ chart, University Press led with a 9.89 per cent appreciation to close at N5 per share. Caverton Offshore Support Group gained 8.96 per cent to settle at N3.65, while Abbey Mortgage Bank rose by 8.66 per cent to N6.90 per share.

Champion Breweries appreciated by 8.56 per cent to close at N10.15, while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated gained 6.93 per cent to finish at N74.85 per share.

Trading activity also declined across key market indicators, with 418.35 million shares valued at N22.83 billion exchanged in 30,908 transactions.

This represented a decline from Tuesday’s trading session, when 545.30 million shares worth N30.39 billion were traded in 31,543 deals.

Honeywell Flour Mills led trading by volume, accounting for 75.96 million shares, or 18.16 per cent of the total volume traded.

GTCO topped the value chart with transactions worth N4.57 billion, representing 20.03 per cent of the day’s total trading value.

NAN