Lagos: The Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) opened the trading week on a bearish note on Monday as sustained profit-taking in large- and mid-cap stocks wiped N1.315 trillion off investors’ wealth.
The market capitalisation declined by 0.84 per cent, dropping from N156.444 trillion at the start of trading to N155.129 trillion at the close.
Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) shed 2,049.65 points, or 0.84 per cent, to close at 241,749.11, compared with 243,798.76 recorded in the previous trading session.
Despite the decline, the market’s year-to-date (YTD) return remained positive at 55.35 per cent.
Market sentiment was broadly negative, with 46 stocks recording losses against 19 gainers.
PZ Cussons topped the losers’ chart, declining by 10 per cent to close at N81.00 per share.
BUA Cement followed with a 9.99 per cent drop to N306.20, while Red Star Express lost 9.98 per cent to settle at N22.10 per share.
Also on the losers’ list, RT Briscoe fell 9.70 per cent to N12.10, while CI Leasing shed 9.38 per cent to close at N5.80 per share.
On the gainers’ table, Nigeria Infrastructure Debt Fund led with a 9.97 per cent appreciation to N163.30 per share.
International Breweries advanced 9.77 per cent to N14.60, while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) gained 8.36 per cent to close at N177.00 per share.
Similarly, UAC of Nigeria rose 8.11 per cent to N199.95, while Daar Communications appreciated by 6.67 per cent to close at N1.76 per share.
Trading activity improved during the session as investors exchanged 523.54 million shares valued at N22.28 billion in 59,945 deals, representing an 18.66 per cent increase in volume over the previous trading day.
FCMB Group emerged as the most actively traded stock by volume, with 102.24 million shares, accounting for 19.53 per cent of the total volume traded.
In terms of value, Seplat Energy led the market with transactions worth N3.62 billion, representing 16.23 per cent of the day’s total turnover.
