By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX) on Tuesday halted its bullish run, experiencing a dip of 1.49 per cent at the close of trading activities. This downturn marked a departure from the recent positive momentum, with the All-Share Index shedding 1,564.52 points to close at 103,110.15 points, down from the opening value of 104,674.67.
Losses recorded in heavyweight stocks such as ACCESSCORP, UBA, TRANSCORP, OANDO, Zenith Bank, GTCO, STERLINGNG and MTNN and 63 others were attributed to the market’s negative performance. Investors bore the brunt of this market correction, collectively losing N856 billion as the total market capitalization took a hit, dropping from an opening value of N57.282 trillion to N56.425 trillion by the end of the trading day.
Growing concerns about the start of a possible massive profit-taking hitting the market as among the 120 equities that participated in the trading session, 61 stocks lost while only 7 gained. Analysts at Futureview Research had encouraged investors to trade cautiously during the week due to a potential of market correction in the week.
648.95 million units of shares were traded in 14,579 deals, amounting to a market value of NGN 11.08 billion. The data revealed a 6 per cent decline in volume, a 57 per cent decline in turnover, and an 8 per cent decline in the number of deals compared to the previous trading day.
On the losers table MANSARD, NASCON, CAVERTON, STERLINGNG and ACCESSCORP all depreciated 10 per cent in value each to close at N5.85, N68.40, N1.80, N6.30 and N25.20 per share respectively.
On the flip side, UPDC led the gainers with an 8.11 per cent share price appreciation, closing at N2.00 per share. They were followed by Geregu Power which added 4.61 per cent in value, closing at N517.80 per share, while Wema Bank gained 1.21 per cent to close the day at N10.90 per share. Ellah Lake also recorded positive movements adding N0.99 per cent to close at N3.05 per share.