Nigerian Exchange ,NGX, Limited opened the new week on a bearish note after the first trading session finished 0.09% lower on Monday.
Profit-taking in banking stocks, especially in FBN Holdings, GTCO, Access Holdings, and Zenith Bank, contributed to the downfall of the market during the session, which witnessed a surge in activity level.
The banking index was down by 1.04%, the consumer goods space fell by 0.44 per cent, and the industrial goods sector depreciated by 0.17% due to selling pressure.
However, bargain-hunting activities by traders caused the insurance counter to rise by 1.05%, while the energy sector closed flat at the close of transactions.
The All-Share Index ,ASI, depreciated by 86.67 points yesterday to 99,656.38 points from 99,743.05 points and the market capitalisation decreased by N49 billion to N56.375 trillion from N56.424 trillion.
The market breadth index was negative on Monday after the bourse ended with 20 price gainers and 26 price losers, indicating a weak investor sentiment.
International Breweries was the worst-performing stock of the session after it shed 10.00% to trade at N3.96, Deap Capital lost 8.93% to sell for 51 Kobo, DAAR Communications declined by 8.77% to 52 Kobo, Beta Glass cracked by 8.62% to N53.00, and Oando crashed by 7.36% to N13.85.
But Secure Electronic Technology closed as the best-performing stock after it gained 10.00% to quote at 55 Kobo, VFD Group grew by 9.85% to N44.60, John Holt expanded by 9.58% to N2.86, Thomas Wyatt appreciated by 9.52% to N2.30, and Transcorp Hotels increased by 9.33% to N98.40.
Investors transacted 973.6 million shares worth N19.3 billion in 9,941 deals during the session compared with the 617.2 million shares worth N11.4 billion traded in 9,273 deals in the preceding trading day, representing a jump in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 57.75%, 69.30% , and 7.20% , respectively.
FBN Holdings was the most active equity with 627.6 million units valued at N13.5 billion, Beta Glass sold 25.7 million units for N1.9 billion, Veritas Kapital traded 35.3 million units worth N33.5 million, Chams exchanged 26.2 million units for N60.3 million, and AIICO Insurance transacted 24.3 million units valued at N23.2 million.
