Investors Lose N19.8bn As Banking, Insurance Stocks Drop

Investors in the Nigerian Exchange Limited lost N19.8bn at the end of trading on Wednesday as all sectoral indices, with the exception of consumer goods stocks, declined.

The NGX All-Share Index declined by 0.09 per cent to 41,975.45 basis points from 42,013.39bps on Tuesday while the market capitalisation dropped to N21.91tn from N21.93tn.

Market activities were bearish as the total volume and value of stocks traded declined by 8.16 per cent and 37.16 per cent respectively.

A total of 292.94 million shares valued at N2.06bn was traded in 4,899 deals, compared to 378.15 million shares worth N3.24bn in 6,384 deals exchanged the previous day.

Analysing by sectors, NGX Insurance, Banking, Oil & Gas and Industrial goods indices saw negative returns on Wednesday as they dropped by 1.52 per cent, 1.03 per cent, 0.1 per cent and 0.17 per cent respectively. The NGX Consumer Goods index rose by 0.09 per cent.

FBN Holdings Plc was the most traded stock in terms of volume and value, accounting for 20.01 per cent of the total volume of trades and 29.84 per cent of the total value of shares traded on the floor of the NGX.

The market sentiment, as measured by market share, was negative as 14 tickers gained as against 20 losers.

Lasaco Assurance Plc led the losers as its share price declined by 9.4 per cent to N1.06. It was followed by Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc and Chams Plc as they both shed 8.33 per cent each to close at N0.22.

Universal Insurance Plc and Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc topped the gainers’ chart as they both rose by 10 per cent to close at N0.22 respectively. Following closely was Honeywell Flour Mills Plc as its share price increased by 9.78 per cent to N3.48 at the end of trading.