Stock Market Loses N719bn To Profit-taking Activity 

Bearish sentiment weighed on the Nigerian equities market as the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 1,107.28 points, representing a 0.44 per cent decrease.

The ASI fell from 253,990.06 to 252,882.78, indicating mild profit-taking following the previous session’s strong advance, although the index remained above the 250,000-point threshold.

Consequently, equity market capitalisation decreased by approximately N719 billion, falling from N164.913 trillion to N164.194 trillion.

Trading activity was mixed compared to the previous session, with deal count increasing despite a sharp decline in traded volume and transaction value.

Total traded volume fell by 92.3 per cent to 404.11 million units from 5.23 billion units, while transaction value declined by 93.7 per cent to N27.91 billion from N441.47 billion.

Deal count, however, increased by 8.5 per cent to 39,012 transactions from 35,946, suggesting trading was substantially less concentrated in large-volume transactions than in the previous session.

Market breadth closed negative with 39 losers against 25 gainers. On the gainers chart, Sovrreign Trust Insurance led with 10.0 per cent to close at N1.98, per share. Austin Laz & Company followed with a gain of 9.21 per cent to N2.61, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) rose by 6.83 per cent to N43.00, per share.

Critical Minerals Financing Corporation (CMFC) gained 5.71 per cent to N3.33 and University Press rose 4.60 per cent to N4.55, per share.

On the losers side, First Holdco shed 10.0 per cent to N139.50, per share. Tripple Gee & Company followed with a decline of 5.51 per cent to N2.40, while Fortis Global Insurance, eTranzact International and Royal Exchange lost 4.76 per cent each to close at N1.60, N16.00 and N1.00 respectively, per share.

Analysts noted that, the session was characterised by bearish sentiment and significantly lower trading turnover, as the market retreated modestly following its recent gains.