The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was further put under pressure on Tuesday, giving up 0.30 per cent at the close of transactions due to profit-taking that started the previous session.
Investors went on selling spree after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) directed banks to suspend the payment of dividends to shareholders, investment in foreign subsidiaries and issuance of bonuses to directors until they clean up their books as regards some big ticket loans, especially in the energy sector.
This development weakened investor sentiment and yesterday, the bourse ended with 29 price gainers and 35 price losers, indicating another negative market breadth index.
Transcorp Power was the worst-performing stock of the trading day after it lost 9.98 per cent to sell for N295.70, Oando declined by 9.97 per cent to N58.25, Ellah Lakes crumbled by 9.87 per cent to N4.29, Omatek shrank by 9.33 per cent to 68 Kobo, and Custodian Investment depreciated by 8.63 per cent to N22.75.
Conversely, Learn Africa gained 10.00 per cent to trade at N4.18, C&I Leasing appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N4.62, Mutual Benefits rose by 10.00 per cent to N1.10, University Press jumped by 9.82 per cent to N5.48, and Deap Capital expanded by 8.64 per cent to 88 Kobo.
Business Post reports that Customs Street witnessed high traffic on Tuesday as market participants try to reduce their exposure to banking stocks because of the new CBN directive.
Zenith Bank was the most active stock after it sold 96.2 million units for N4.3 billion, GTCO transacted 83.4 million units worth N6.3 billion, UBA exchanged 65.2 million units valued at N2.1 billion, Access Holdings traded 64.2 million units worth N1.3 billion, and Ecobank exchanged 51.7 million units valued at N1.6 billion.
When trading activities closed for the day, the turnover stood at 787.3 million units sold for N25.7 billion in 23,170 deals versus the 721.8 million units worth N22.0 billion traded in 22,100 deals on Monday, indicating an increase in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 9.08 per cent, 16.82 per cent, and 4.84 per cent apiece.
A look at the sectorial performance showed that the insurance and the industrial goods sectors experienced bargain-hunting activities during the session, closing higher by 0.40 per cent and 0.16 per cent, respectively.
However, the commodity index fell by 1.92 per cent, the energy space decreased by 1.25 per cent, the consumer goods counter tumbled by 0.50 per cent, and the banking industry crashed by 0.20 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) moderated by 348.61 points to 114,910.16 points from 115,258.77 points and the market capitalisation went down by N183 billion to N72.497 trillion from N72.680 trillion.