Nigerian stock market downturn erases N324bn as ASI falls 0.36% with 40 losers outpacing 17 gainers despite improved trading activity

Nigerian stock market downturn continued on Wednesday as sustained sell pressure erased N324 billion from investors’ wealth, extending the bearish mood.

Also read: Nigerian Stock Market Rises with N285bn Gain

The market capitalisation dropped by 0.36 per cent to N89.372 trillion, down from N89.696 trillion the previous session. Similarly, the All-Share Index (ASI) shed 512.60 points or 0.36 per cent to close at 141,248.76 compared to 141,761.36 on Tuesday.

Market breadth remained weak, with 40 losers outweighing 17 gainers. Cornerstone Insurance and RT Briscoe led the laggards, both sliding by 10 per cent to N6.39 and N3.06 per share.

ABC Transport fell 9.80 per cent to N4.51, NGX Group dipped 9.70 per cent to N53.55, while Mutual Benefits declined 9.58 per cent to N4.06.

On the gainers’ chart, Deap Capital Management advanced 4.82 per cent to N1.74, Legend Internet rose 4.63 per cent to N5.65, and Africa Prudential gained 3.13 per cent to N16.50.

Despite the losses, trading activity improved, with investors exchanging 682.9 million shares worth N22.2 billion across 28,695 deals. This was higher than Tuesday’s 605.02 million shares valued at N12.89 billion in 28,845 deals.

FCMB Group maintained its dominance, topping the volume chart for the third consecutive session with 108.5 million shares worth N1.19 billion. Sterling Bank followed with 86.04 million shares valued at N688.1 million, while Cutix traded 45.8 million shares worth N155.69 million.

Access Corporation and FirstHoldCo also featured prominently with 39.34 million shares valued at N1.1 billion and 35.8 million shares worth N1.16 billion respectively.

Also read: Nigerian Stock Investment Guide Reveals Strong Picks

The Nigerian stock market downturn highlights the prevailing caution among investors, even as liquidity in the market shows resilience.