The equities market closed lower on Tuesday, with investors recording a loss of N478 billion following profit-taking in major stocks.
The decline was driven by losses in large- and mid-cap stocks, including PZ Cussons, Computer Warehouse Group (CWG), ABC Transport, Wema Bank, Sovereign Trust Insurance, and 33 other stocks.
Market capitalization decreased from an opening value of N158.697 trillion to N158.219 trillion at the close of trading.
Similarly, the All-Share Index fell by 874 points, or 0.35 percent, to close at 246,686.66, down from 247,560.66.
As a result, the market’s year-to-date (YtD) return moderated to 58.53 percent, while market breadth was negative with 38 losers and 14 gainers.
PZ Cussons and Computer Warehouse Group led the losers’ chart, each dropping 10 percent to settle at N88.20 and N21.60 per share, respectively.
ABC Transport declined by 9.95 percent, closing at N6.88; Wema Bank dipped by 9.09 percent to N30; and Sovereign Trust Insurance fell by 8.16 percent to N2.70 per share.
On the gainers’ side, International Energy Insurance topped the chart with a 9.86 percent increase, closing at N5.46. Trans-Nationwide Express gained 7.14 percent to N5.10, and Neimeth Pharmaceuticals rose 6.80 percent to N11 per share.
Livingtrust Mortgage Bank advanced by 5 percent, closing at N4.20, while Abbey Mortgage Bank increased by 4.44 percent to N7.05 per share.
Market activity also declined overall, with 718.8 million shares valued at N29.3 billion traded across 71,683 transactions. This contrasts with the previous session’s 1.127 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 91,880 deals.
Access Corporation led in trading volume with 113.10 million shares, representing 10.03 percent of total volume. Zenith Bank was the most actively traded stock by value, with transactions totaling N4.81 billion, or 10.85 percent of the day’s total market turnover.
