A 0.08 per cent decline was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited after 24 equities led by Legend Internet and Seplat Energy ended in red due to profit-taking.
They pulled down the recent positive momentum as a result of selling pressure, though investor sentiment remained bullish because the Nigerian bourse finished with 41 price gainers, indicating a positive market breadth index.
Data showed that Legend Internet lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N6.84, Seplat also depreciated by 10.00 per cent to N4964.40, Abbey Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.90 per cent to N6.19, Omatek fell by 8.97 per cent to 71 Kobo, and Learn Africa declined by 6.21 per cent to N4.23.
However, Mutual Benefits appreciated by 10.00 per cent to close at N1.10 , University Press expanded by 9.98 per cent to N6.17, Academy Press surged by 9.88 per cent to N4.45, SCOA Nigeria advanced by 9.62 per cent to N4.90, and Livestock Feeds rose by 9.58 per cent to N9.15.
During the session, the commodity index shed 1.96 per cent, the energy counter lost 0.64 per cent, the banking space fell by 0.26 per cent, and the insurance industry went down by 0.17 per cent, while the consumer goods and the industrial goods sectors gained 1.59 per cent and 0.41 per cent, respectively.
When the closing gong was struck, the All-Share Index (ASI) moderated by 84.53 points to 111,818.08 points from 111,902.61 points and the market capitalisation contracted by N53 billion to N70.511 trillion from the previous day’s N70.564 trillion.
A total of 556.5 million shares valued at N17.2 billion exchanged hands in 18,505 deals yesterday versus the 512.2 million shares worth N17.1 billion traded in 16,711 deals on Wednesday, implying an improvement in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 8.65 per cent, 0.59 per cent and 10.74 per cent, respectively.
Business Post reports that UBA exchanged 82.6 million stocks worth N2.9 billion, Fidelity Bank transacted 70.6 million equities valued at N1.4 billion, Nigerian Breweries traded 37.2 million shares for N2.1 billion, Tantalizers sold 36.3 million equities valued at N91.0 million, and Zenith Bank transacted 27.7 million stocks worth N1.3 billion.