The Nigerian stock market closed lower on Wednesday, wiping N801 billion from investors’ wealth as renewed profit-taking brought a three-session winning streak to an end.
The downturn followed selling pressure in several large and mid-cap stocks, including Nestlé Nigeria, BUA Foods, Mecure Industries, International Energy Insurance and UAC of Nigeria.
At the close of trading, the Nigerian Exchange market capitalisation fell by 0.51 per cent to N158.318 trillion, compared with N159.119 trillion recorded in the previous session.
The benchmark All-Share Index also declined by 1,241.19 points, representing a 0.51 per cent drop, to settle at 245,418.37 from its previous close of 246,659.56.
Following the market decline, the year-to-date return moderated to 57.71 per cent.
Despite the bearish close, overall market breadth remained positive, with 37 stocks recording gains while 28 equities finished in negative territory.
Unilever Nigeria, Cadbury Nigeria and Trans-Nationwide Express topped the gainers’ table after each advanced by 10 per cent.
Unilever closed at N137.50 per share, Cadbury finished at N62.70, while Trans-Nationwide Express ended the session at N3.08 per share.
Thomas Wyatt Nigeria also rose by 9.95 per cent to close at N4.09, while UPDC Real Estate Investment Trust gained 9.40 per cent to finish at N12.80 per share.
On the losing side, Nestlé Nigeria and BUA Foods recorded the steepest declines, falling by 10 per cent each.
Nestlé Nigeria closed at N2,812.50 per share, while BUA Foods settled at N845.10.
Mecure Industries declined by 9.94 per cent to N69.30 per share, while International Energy Insurance dropped by 9.84 per cent to close at N4.40.
UAC of Nigeria also fell by 7.75 per cent, ending the trading session at N184.45 per share.
Trading activity, however, strengthened during the session as investors exchanged 1.25 billion shares valued at N118.18 billion across 47,458 transactions.
The volume of shares traded represented a 34.34 per cent increase compared with the previous session.
First Holdco dominated market activity with 736.04 million shares valued at N80.81 billion changing hands.
The financial services company accounted for 58.76 per cent of the total volume traded and 68.38 per cent of the overall market value for the session.
The decline reflected renewed profit-taking in selected highly capitalised equities, despite the greater number of stocks that closed higher during Wednesday’s trading session.
