The bearish trading pattern maintained its grip on the Nigerian exchange on Wednesday resulting in a N673bn deduction from the wealth of investors.
During the midweek trading, the All-Share Index declined 1.20 per cent or 1,190.24 points to 98,121.30, thus further reducing the year-to-date return to 31.22 per cent.
Similarly, the market capitalisation of listed equities declined by 1.20 per cent to N55. 494tn.
The Nigerian exchange has been closing in the red zone for weeks on the back of sell-offs reflective of the current market dynamics and changes in fundamentals in the face of a high-interest rate environment and improved yields in the alternative investment windows.
Despite the bearish trading pattern, the local bourse recorded more gainers at 22 than declining stocks at 19.
This shift was reflected in trading activity levels on the NGX, with total deals and value experiencing gains of 7.96 per cent and 22.10 per cent, totalling 7,907 trades and N9.58bn. Conversely, traded volume for the day saw a decline of 31.10 per cent to 395.75 million units.
Sectoral performance exhibited a mixed trend, with the Banking and Insurance sectors posting losses of 0.83 per cent and 0.27 per cent 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 per cent and 0.02 per cent, driven by positive interest in Unilever, CAP and CUTIX, while the Oil/Gas sector traded flat.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc emerged as the most traded security in terms of volume and value, followed by Zenith Bank Plc.
Key stocks driving the market downturn included MTN Nigeria, Transcorp Hotels, Oando Plc and FBNH which declined by 10.00 per cent, 10.00 per cent, 9.90 per cent, and 9.82 per cent respectively.
