By Taiye Olayemi
The Nigerian equities market extended its downward run on Monday, losing N107 billion in market capitalisation as investors continued to take profits from medium and large-capitalised stocks.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the decline marked the fifth consecutive bearish trading session, with the market’s key indicators falling by 0.07 per cent.
Market capitalisation dropped to N156.517 trillion, from N156.623 trillion recorded at the close of trading on Friday, representing a loss of N107 billion.
Similarly, the NGX All-Share Index shed 164.55 points, or 0.07 per cent, to close at 242,454.65 points.
The decline pushed the market’s year-to-date return down slightly to 55.81 per cent, while market breadth remained negative, with 36 stocks recording losses against 19 gainers.
RT Briscoe led the decliners, falling 9.91 per cent to N10.45 per share. Fortis Global Insurance followed with a 9.89 per cent decline to N2.37, while Mc Nicholas dropped 9.62 per cent to N4.70.
University Press shed 9.35 per cent to close at N4.85, while Nem Insurance declined by 8.83 per cent to N30.45.
On the gainers’ side, Trans-Nationwide Express recorded the strongest appreciation, rising 9.86 per cent to N3.12. AVA Capital gained 9.72 per cent to close at N7.90, while Thomas Wyatt Nigeria advanced 9.09 per cent to N3.
Legend Internet also rose 8.75 per cent to N4.35, while Dangote Sugar gained 8.60 per cent to finish at N70.10 per share.
Trading activity, however, weakened during the session. Total volume fell by 5.89 per cent to 1.33 billion shares, valued at N22.93 billion, exchanged in 45,494 transactions.
Lasaco Assurance dominated trading volume, with 730.69 million shares changing hands, accounting for 54.93 per cent of the total volume traded during the session.
In value terms, MTNN recorded the highest turnover, with transactions worth N7.30 billion, representing 31.83 per cent of the day’s total traded value.
