At the close of trading on Wednesday at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), the All-Share Index (ASI) experienced a slight decline, falling by 0.07 percent to close at 95,831.51 basis points.
However, the overall market capitalization of listed equities saw a notable increase of 1.10 percent, reaching N55.05 trillion, translating to a market gain of N599 billion.
This surge in market value was primarily driven by the supplementary listing of International Breweries’ additional rights issue, which boosted its total shares on the exchange from 26.86 billion to 168.29 billion.
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On the individual stock front, the market saw more gainers than losers, with 27 stocks advancing compared to 18 decliners.
Leading the gainers were Ikeja Hotel, R.T. Briscoe, Cutix, Tantalizer, and Thomas Wyatt, with impressive share price increases of +10.00 percent, +9.76 percent, +9.66 percent, +9.62 percent, and +6.96 percent, respectively.
Conversely, University Press, Oando, Nascon Allied Industries, May and Baker, and C&I Leasing led the decliners, recording losses of -9.40 percent, -8.66 percent, -8.39 percent, -5.41 percent, and -5.08 percent, respectively.
Sectoral performance was largely negative, reflecting cautious investor sentiment.
The Banking, Insurance, Consumer Goods, and Oil/Gas indices all posted losses of 0.30 percent, 0.10 percent, 0.02 percent, and 0.08 percent, respectively. The Industrial Goods sector stood out as the lone gainer, with a modest increase of 0.07 percent.
Despite the overall rise in market value, trading activity was subdued, with a significant decline of 64.44 percent in volume and a 5.66 percent drop in value, amounting to 360.56 million units and N7.25 billion, respectively.
Conversely, the total number of deals saw a slight uptick of 6.24 percent, closing the day with 8,813 transactions.
Oando emerged as the most actively traded stock in terms of both volume and value, with 66.23 million units worth N2.69 billion changing hands in 1,795 deals.
Guaranty Trust Holding Company followed closely as the second most traded stock of the day.