Equity market loss extends to third consecutive day

The Nigerian Exchange continued its bearish trend for the third consecutive day this week, as investors lost N32bn due to losses suffered by Berger, Cutix, and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company.

Berger, Cutix, and Nigerian Aviation Handling Company dipped 10 per cent, respectively to close at N13.50, N5.13, and N35.10.

At the close of trading on Wednesday, the All-Share Index of the local bourse and market capitalisation dipped by 0.06 per cent to 97,774.22 and N55.51tn, respectively, bringing the year-to-date to 31.70 per cent.

An aggregate of 1,838,183,450 units of shares was traded in 10,847 deals valued at N23.11bn.

The market breadth closed negative as 27 equities gained while 29 equities lost.

Leading the gainers’ chart were Industrial and Medical Gases Nigeria, University Press, and Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc, which gained 10 per cent each to close at N14.30, N2.42, and N0.99, respectively.

There was a 360 per cent improvement in volume, an 189 per cent improvement in turnover, and the number of deals rose by four per cent.

Fidelity Bank recorded the highest volume of 1.33bn traded shares, followed by Zenith Bank with 83.9m units.