The Nigerian Stock Exchange started the new trading week with an N8 bn decline in market value despite improvements in trading activity.
The All-Share Index dipped slightly by 12.54 points, or 0.01 per cent, to close at 109,697.83. Despite the small loss, the ASI posted a one-week gain of 1.33 per cent, a four-week gain of 5.63 per cent, and a year-to-date increase of 6.58 per cent.
Market capitalisation at close stood at N69 tn, down by N8 N8bn from the previous close.
On the first trading day of the week, a total of 486.1 million shares were exchanged in 24,883 deals, valued at N11.38bn. This represented a 13 per cent increase in volume, a 32 per cent increase in turnover, and a 52 per cent increase in deals compared to the previous trading day on Friday, May 16.
One hundred and twenty-seven equities were active on the NGX, with 46 gainers and 23 losers recorded. Ikeja Hotel led the gainers, rising by 10.00 per cent to close at N15.40 per share. Other notable gainers were Tantalizers, up by 10.00 per cent; Beta Glass, up by 9.98 per cent; and Northern Nigeria Flour Mills, up by 9.97 per cent.
On the losing side, The Initiates came out last with a decline of 10.00 per cent to N6.12 per share, followed by Associated Bus Company, down by 9.83 per cent; University Press, down by 9.77 per cent; and FTN Cocoa Processors, down by 9.65 per cent.
In terms of volume, Access Holdings led with 45.1 million shares traded, followed by Fidelity Bank with 39.4 million shares, Guaranty Trust Holding with 32.4 million shares, and Cutix with 24.1 million shares.
Other market indices recorded mixed performances. The Top 30 Index decreased by 0.06 per cent but gained 1.22 per cent over the week. The Consumer Goods Index rose by 1.55 per cent, the NGX Insurance Index gained 0.56 per cent, and the Main Board Index was up by 0.24 per cent. Meanwhile, the Oil and Gas Index and the Industrial Index were down by 0.19 per cent and 0.17 per cent, respectively.
The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian equities market recorded a positive performance last week as investors gained N614bn, with the Nigerian Exchange All-Share Index rising by 0.90 per cent to close at 109,710.37 basis points, while the market capitalisation settled at N68.953tn.