Figures from the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) showed that the market capitalisation, which had opened the day at N89.696 trillion, shed 0.36 per cent to close at N89.372 trillion. In the same vein, the All-Share Index fell by 512.60 points, settling at 141,248.76, compared to 141,761.36 posted the previous session.
The downtrend was driven largely by losses in insurance, transport, and financial services stocks. Among the top laggards were Cornerstone Insurance, RT Briscoe, ABC Transport, NGX Group, and Mutual Benefits, alongside 36 other equities. As a result, the market breadth closed negative, with 40 decliners against 17 advancers.
On the brighter side, Deap Capital Management and Legend Internet rebounded after Tuesday’s setback, emerging as the leading gainers of the session.
Trading data also reflected mixed investor sentiment. The value and volume of traded shares rose, even as the number of transactions declined. In total, 682.9 million units worth N22.2 billion were exchanged across 28,695 deals, up from 605.02 million shares valued at N12.89 billion traded in 28,845 deals on Tuesday.
FCMB Group maintained its dominance on the activity chart, leading in volume for the third consecutive session with 108.5 million shares worth N1.19 billion changing hands.