The bullish run, which had persisted in the equities section of the Nigerian Stock Exchange for four consecutive trading days, came to an end on Wednesday with major indicators losing marginally.
The market capitalisation of the listed shares fell by 0.4 per cent or N41bn, from N9.297tn on Tuesday to close at N9.254tn on Wednesday.
Similarly, the NSE’s All-Share Index, dropped by 0.4 per cent or 132.69 basis points to 28,956.83 basis points, down from 29,089.52 recorded the previous day.
The NSE-30 Index was down marginally by 0.5 per cent or 6.43 basis points to close at 1,379.00 points, down from 1,385.43 points recorded the day before.
The NSE Banking Index also dropped from 376.72 basis points to close at 376.50 basis points, while the Consumer Goods Index lost 1.2 per cent or 10.69 basis points from 854.54 points to close at 843.89 basis points.
Analysts attributed the marginal slide to the activities of some investors, who were taking advantage of the significant appreciation recorded in the prices of major stocks in the last few weeks.
The banking sub-sector maintained its lead on the activity chart, accounting for 74 per cent of total turnover traded.
In the banking sub-sector, 335.078 million shares, valued at N2.717bn, were exchanged by investors in 3,396 transactions.
Trading in the shares of United Bank for Africa Plc alone accounted for 44 per cent of trading in the sub-sector.
Other stocks that drove turnover in the sub-sector included Zenith Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc drove turnover in the sub-sector.
At the close of trading activities on Monday, 20 companies recorded price appreciation, while 31 stocks lost.
UBA emerged the highest price gainer at the close of activities, rising by 9.9 per cent or 51 kobo to close at N5.65 per share.
Ashaka Cement Plc followed on the chart, rising by 9.0 per cent or N1.71 to close at N20.69 per share.
Forte Oil Plc and Eterna Plc followed on the chart, rising by 4.9 per cent and 4.8 per cent to close at N8.93 and N2.62 per share respectively.
DN Meyer Plc, on the other hand, lost the highest, shedding 10 per cent or 14 kobo to close at N1.26 per share.
Presco Plc and Fidson Healthcare Plc also lost 8.5 per cent and 6.72 per cent to close at N20.50 and N1.11 per share, respectively.
