Chimara Bygold
AS profit-taking subsisted, a couple of stocks dominated by financial services weakened Nigerian stocks by 0.05 per cent on Wednesday. They shed part of the weight from recent marginal gains, setting the total valuation of stocks on a downward course. The stocks comprised Lafarge WAPCO, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated, Access and Zenith Bank.
According to market data, Flour Mills was the most active stock with 50.6 million units of its shares worth N1.5 billion traded in 54 deals.
Transcorp transacted 38.9 million shares priced at N39.2 million in 120 transactions; FBN Holdings had 21.5 million shares valued at N243.7 million traded in 199 deals. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) traded 19.2 million shares estimated at N164.5 million in 77 transactions, while GTCO traded 14.6 million shares valued at N403 million in 238 deals Market breadth, which determines the attitude of investors towards trade, was slightly negative as 19 laggards were recorded relative to 18 gainers. The all-share index slipped 23.25 points to 43,707.3, while market capitalisation eased to N23.8 trillion at the end of trade. From the beginning of the year to date, the index is up by 8.53 per cent.
Join our WhatsApp ChannelTOP FIVE GAINERS Neimeth led gainers, appreciating by 10 per cent to N1.98. Chams added 9.09 per cent to close at N0.24. Mutual Benefits went up by 8 per cent to N0.27.
Honeywell Flour rose to N3.54, notching up 6.95 per cent in the process. Wema completed the top 5, climbing up by 5.88 per cent to N1.80. TOP FIVE LOSERS Red Star Express topped the losers’ chart, declining by 9.86 per cent to close at N3.29. Pharma Deko shed 9.83 per cent to end trade at N2.11.
FTN Cocoa fell to N0.40, losing 9.09 per cent in the process. ABC Transport slumped to N0.30, recording 9.09 per cent depreciation. Consolidated Hallmark closed at N0.55, going down by 8.33 per cent. In all, 270.701 million shares estimated at N5.6 billion were traded in 3,861 deals.
