The Nigerian stock market closed on a negative note on Wednesday as investors’ wealth declined by N293 billion.

The decline was driven by continued profit-taking in equities such as Okomu Oil, Enamelware, NASCON, FTN Cocoa Processors, VFD Group and 24 other stocks.

Specifically, market capitalisation fell from N163.824 trillion on Tuesday to N163.531 trillion on Wednesday, representing a decline of 0.18 per cent or N293 billion.

Similarly, the All-Share Index dipped by 451.92 points or 0.18 per cent to close at 251,861.24, compared with 252,313.16 recorded on Tuesday.

The market’s year-to-date return dropped to 61.85 per cent, while market breadth closed negative, with 29 losers against 23 gainers.

On the losers’ chart, Okomu Oil led by 10 per cent, settling at N1,148.60; Enamelware fell by 9.96 per cent to N33, while Nascon dipped by 8.99 per cent to N167 per share.

FTN Cocoa Processors also shed 8.36 per cent to close at N6.80, while VFD Group dropped 6.67 per cent to N11.20 per share.

Conversely, University Press topped the gainers’ chart by 9.89 per cent, finishing at N5; Caverton Offshore Support Group gained 8.96 per cent, closing at N3.65; and Abbey Mortgage Bank grew 8.66 per cent, settling at N6.90 per share.

Champion Breweries appreciated by 8.56 per cent, closing at N10.15, while Ecobank Transnational rose by 6.93 per cent, ending the session at N74.85 per share.

Market activity showed an overall decline in market value, volume, and deals, with 418.35 million shares valued at N22.83 billion traded across 30,908 transactions.

This is compared with Tuesday’s 545.30 million shares worth N30.39 billion that were exchanged in 31,543 deals.

Honeywell Flour led trading by volume with 75.96 million shares, accounting for 18.16 per cent of total transactions.

GTCO topped the value chart with N4.57 billion, representing 20.03 per cent of the day’s total value. 

(NAN)