Investors in the equities market lost N110bn on Thursday as 25 firms saw their share prices drop at the end of trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange.
The market fell for the fourth straight trading session as the NSE All-Share Index declined by 0.51 per cent to 41,785.80 basis points from 42,000.01bps on Wednesday.
The market capitalisation of equities dropped to N21.86tn on Thursday from N21.970tn on Wednesday.
Northern Nigeria Flour Mills Plc led the losers at the end of trading as its share price fell by 9.94 per cent to close at N7.88.
It was followed by Champion Breweries Plc and Linkage Assurance Plc, which dropped by 9.73 per cent and 9.59 per cent to close at N3.06 and N0.66 per share respectively.
FTN Cocoa Processors Plc depreciated by 9.43 per cent to N0.48 while Jaiz Bank Plc shed 9.33 per cent to close at N0.68 per share.
Other losers were Ardova Plc, FCMB Group Plc, Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc, Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc, Wema Bank Plc, Eterna Plc and AIICO Insurance Plc.
Twenty-two stocks recorded gains at the end of trading, with African Alliance Insurance Plc, Guinea Insurance Plc, McNichols Plc, Wapic Insurance Plc and May & Baker Nigeria Plc emerging the top five gainers.
African Alliance Insurance and Guinea Insurance appreciated by 10 per cent each to close at N0.22 per share while McNichols rose by 9.84 per cent to N0.67 per share.
Wapic Insurance and May & Baker saw their share prices increase by 9.26 per cent and 7.69 per cent to close at N0.59 and N4.90 respectively.
The stock market had on Monday started the month on a negative note, ending a five-day gaining streak.
Analysts at Cordros Capital Limited noted that the local bourse sustained its negative run, as profit-taking in bellwethers, namely Dangote Cement Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc, prompted a fourth consecutive loss in the NSE ASI.
They said the month-to-date loss increased to 1.5 per cent on Thursday, while the year-to-date gain moderated to 3.8 per cent.
The analysts said, “The total volume of trades increased by 24.7 per cent to 629.41 million units, valued at N7.98bn, and exchanged in 4,753 deals.
FBNH was the most traded stock by volume at 126.36 million units, while Guaranty was the most traded stock by value at N2.88bn.
“Sectoral performance was broadly negative, following losses in the industrial goods (-1.2 per cent), Insurance (-1.1 per cent), banking (-0.3 per cent) and consumer goods (-0.1 per cent) indices. The oil and gas (+0.3 per cent) index was the sole gainer of the day.”
