The Nigerian equities market extended its bearish trend on Thursday, marking the fourth consecutive session of losses as investors’ wealth declined by N580 billion.

The downturn was driven by sustained profit-taking in stocks such as McNichols, ABC Transport, Eterna, Aradel Holdings, NPF Microfinance Bank, and 25 other decliners, pushing the market into negative territory.

Market capitalisation fell by N580 billion, or 0.37 per cent, to close at N155.359 trillion from N155.939 trillion recorded in the previous session. Similarly, the All-Share Index dropped by 905.30 points, or 0.37 per cent, to settle at 242,227.31, compared with 243,132.61 posted on Wednesday.

Consequently, the market’s year-to-date return moderated to 55.66 per cent. Market breadth closed negative, with 30 stocks recording losses against 25 gainers, reflecting the prevailing bearish sentiment among investors.

Meanwhile, Mc Nichols led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent, ending the session at N7.74, ABC Transport trailed by 9.88 per cent, closing at N6.20, while Eterna fell by 9.85 per cent, finishing at N29.75 per share. Also, Aradel dipped by 9.51 per cent, settling at N1,749.90, and NPF Micro-finance Bank shed by 8.45 per cent, closing at N5.20 per share.

International Energy Insurance led the gainers’ chart by 10 per cent, settling at N6.60; Omatek Ventures followed, up 9.73 per cent, finishing at N2.03, while Abbey Mortgage Bank advanced by 9.68 per cent, ending the session at N8.50 per share. Similarly, Cutix gained by 9.66 per cent, closing at N3.18, and John Holt increased by 7.97 per cent, finishing at N14.90 per share.

A total of 588.5 million shares valued at N27.88 billion were traded across 57,352 transactions, compared to 922.9 million shares worth N42.27 billion that were exchanged in 69,332 deals earlier on Wednesday.

This revealed an overall decline in the market value, volume and deals.

Access Corporation emerged as the most actively traded stock by volume, with 264.59 million shares exchanged, representing 44.96 per cent of the day’s total trading volume.

The Nigerian Exchange Group led the value chart, recording transactions worth N3.89 billion, which accounted for 13.95 per cent of the market’s total turnover.

(NAN)