TheDiggerNews
Lagos: The equities market closed lower on Wednesday, erasing N352 billion in investors’ wealth.
Investors sold off stocks such as RT Briscoe, May and Baker, Ikeja Hotel, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank, eTranzact, and 33 others, dragging the market into negative territory.
This trading led to a 0.33 per cent decline in market capitalisation, or N352 billion, from N106.088 trillion at the opening to N105.736 trillion at the close.
Falling by 549.45 points, or 0.33 per cent, the All-Share Index declined to 165,164.38 from 165,713.83.
Thirty-eight stocks lost value while 32 gained, resulting in a negative market breadth at the close.
RT Briscoe led the losers’ chart by 9.97 per cent, settling at N6.50, May and Baker trailed by 9.96 per cent, ending the session at N32.25, while Ikeja Hotel lost by 9.92 per cent, finishing at N32.25 per share.
Livingtrust Mortgage Bank dropped by 9.90 per cent, closing at N4.64, and Etranzact dipped by 9.16 per cent, settling at N17.35 per share.
On the other hand, Union Homes Real Estate and Deep Capital Management led the gainers’ chart by 9.97 per cent, finishing at N94.85 and N9.49 per share, respectively.
Also, Tantalizer increased by 9.92 per cent, settling at N3.88, Skyway Aviation Handling Company rose by 9.91 per cent, closing at 128.60, and Morison grew by 9.90 per cent, ending the session at 9.99 per share.
Analysis of market activity showed a 29 per cent increase in volume, a 2 per cent increase in value, and a 5 per cent drop in deals.
A total of 623.2 million shares, valued at N16.5 billion, were traded in 42,172 transactions, compared to 483.09 million shares valued at N17.4 billion in 41,499 transactions.
Neimeth International Pharmaceutical sold 58.13 million shares, accounting for 9.33 per cent of the day’s total volume.
Zenith Bank recorded the highest value traded at N2.30 billion, accounting for 13.93 per cent of the day’s total.
