By Taiye Olayemi
The equities market closed lower on Tuesday as investors recorded a loss of N478
billion following profit-taking in major stocks.
The decline was driven by losses in large- and mid-cap stocks, including PZ
Cussons, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), ABC Transport, Wema Bank,
Sovereign Trust Insurance, and 33 other stocks.
Market capitalisation declined from an opening value of N158.697 trillion to
N158.219 trillion at the close of trading.
Similarly, the All-Share Index fell by 874 points, or 0.35 per cent, to close at
246,686.66, down from 247,560.66.
Consequently, the market’s Year-to-Date (YtD) return moderated to 58.53 per cent,
while market breadth closed negative with 38 losers and 14 gainers.
PZ Cussons and Computer Warehouse Group led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent
each, settling at N88.20 and N21.60 per share respectively.
Also, ABC Transport shed by 9.95 per cent, closing at N6.88, Wema Bank dipped
by 9.09 per cent, finishing at N30 while Sovereign Trust Insurance dropped by
8.16 per cent, ending the session at N2.70 per share.
Conversely, International Energy Insurance topped the gainers’ chart by 9.86 per
cent, closing at N5.46, Trans-Nationwide Express trailed by 7.14 per cent,
finishing at N5.10 and Neimeth Pharmaceuticals gained by 6.80 per cent at N11
per share.
Similarly, Livingtrust Mortgage Bank advanced by 5 per cent, closing at N4.20
while Abbey Mortgage Bank increased by 4.44 per cent, settling at N7.05 per
share.
The market activity also witnessed an overall decline in the market volume, value
and deals as 718.8 million shares valued at N29.3 billion were exchanged across
71,683 transactions.
This is in contrast with the previous session’s 1.127 billion shares worth N44.3
billion that was traded in 91,880 deals.
Access Corporation led trading activity by volume, with 113.10 million shares
exchanged, representing 10.03 per cent of the total volume traded during the day.
Zenith Bank emerged as the most actively traded stock by value, recording
transactions worth N4.81 billion, which accounted for 10.85 per cent of the day’s
total market turnover.
