Against the backdrop of sustained profit taking, the stock market on Wednesday sustained the previous day bearish sentiments. The market shed 0.06%, extending losing streak to two consecutive days. Market breadth closed negative, recording 12 gainers against 32 losers.
In summary, the All Share Index (ASI) was down by 24.61 absolute points, representing a decline of 0.06% to close at 37,963.93 points. Similarly, the market capitalization dipped by N8.91 billion, representing a decline of 0.06% to close at N13.75 trillion.
The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalized stocks, amongst which are: Japaul Oil which dropped by -7.32% , Cadbury Nigeria Plc -3.85%, Dangote Flour -2.38% , Diamond Bank -2.07% , Zenith Bank -1.96% , Honeywell Flour Mills -1.79% , Fidelity Bank -1.72%, Oando -0.75% , Guaranty Trust Bank -0.73%, Mobil Oil -0.55 , PZ (-0.50%), Access Bank -0.48% , FCMB -0.43%, SEPLAT -0.15% and Nigerian Breweries -0.09%.
Also, plummeted shares of Zenith Bank Plc, International Breweries and Honeywell Flour lowered the NSE Banking Index and NSE Consumer Goods index by 0.58% and 0.16% respectively.
Meanwhile, Total Nigeria Plc led the gainers’ table, appreciating by ₦7.20 to close at ₦200.50 per share. Stanbic IBTC followed with a gain of ₦1 to close at ₦50, while Lafarge Africa increased by 95k to close at ₦40 per share. Union Bank of Nigeria added 25kobo to close at ₦6.15, while Africa Prudential Registrar advanced by 15kobo to close at ₦4 per share.
Also, the volume of shares transacted closed lower with an exchange of 372.24 million shares valued at ₦3.18 billion achieved in 3,800 deals.
This was in contrast with a total of 539.67 million worth ₦4.71 billion traded in 4,202 deals on Tuesday. Sterling Bank was the toast of investors, accounting for 172.63 million shares valued at ₦241.03 million. Zenith International Bank followed with 31.54 million shares worth ₦792.74 million, while Transcorp sold 22.92 million shares valued at ₦31.98 million.