Stock market sheds N13bn as negative sentiment persists

Negative sentiment persisted at the Nigerian stock market on Wednesday as investors continued to favour alternative asset classes.

As buy-side activities dropped against that of the sell-side, the market decreased by 0.05percent or N13billion.

This was caused mostly by investors who sold stocks like NGX Group, Cadbury, NEM Insurance, Academy Press and Jaiz Bank.

NGX Group decreased most, from day-open high of N19.40 to N18.55, losing 85kobo or 4.38percent.

It was followed by Cadbury which dropped from a high of N13.75 to N13, losing 75kobo or 5.45percent; while NEM Insurance decreased from N5.59 to N5.25, losing 34kobo or 6.08percent.

Likewise, Academy Press made the top decliners list after its share price dropped from N 1.84 to N1.66, losing 18kobo or 9.78percent.

Read also: Market closes slightly positive by 0.01%

At the close of trading, the market’s record positive return year-to-date (YtD) also decreased to 15.70percent.

In 2,981 deals, investors exchanged 51,876,539 shares valued at N590.008million.

Zenith Bank, GTCO, Sterling Bank, Fidelity Bank and Transcorp were top-5 traded stocks on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).

The stock market’s performance indicators – All-Share Index (ASI) and capitalisation – decreased from preceding trading day’s highs of 49,445.31 points and N26.670trillion respectively to 49,421.91 points and N26.657trillion.