The negative trading trend continued to dominate the Nigerian exchange on Wednesday, leading to a N673 billion decrease in the wealth of investors.
In the middle of the week's trading, the All-Share Index dropped by 1.20 percent or 1,190.24 points to 98,121.30, further reducing the year-to-date return to 31.22 percent.
Likewise, the market capitalisation of listed equities decreased by 1.20 percent to N55.494 trillion.
The Nigerian exchange has been consistently closing in the negative zone for weeks due to sell-offs reflecting the current market dynamics and changes in fundamentals, influenced by a high-interest rate environment and improved yields in alternative investment options.
Despite the negative trading pattern, the local market saw more stocks gaining at 22, compared to 19 declining stocks.
This change was evident in trading activity levels on the NGX, with total deals and value increasing by 7.96 percent and 22.10 percent, reaching 7,907 trades and N9.58 billion. However, the traded volume for the day declined by 31.10 percent to 395.75 million units.
Sectoral performance showed a mixed trend, with the Banking and Insurance sectors experiencing losses of 0.83 percent and 0.27 percent due to sell-offs in FBN Holdings, United Bank for Africa, AIICO, WAPIC, Mutual Benefit, Cornerstone Insurance, and Sovereign Insurance Plc.
On the other hand, the Consumer and Industrial Goods sectors gained 0.05 percent and 0.02 percent, driven by positive interest in Unilever, CAP, and CUTIX, while the Oil/Gas sector traded flat.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc was the most traded security in terms of volume and value, followed by Zenith Bank Plc.
Key stocks contributing to the market downturn included MTN Nigeria, Transcorp Hotels, Oando Plc, and FBNH, which experienced declines of 10.00 percent, 10.00 percent, 9.90 percent, and 9.82 percent respectively.
