Profit taking halt two-day rally as Index drops by 1.77%

Given the current market mood, the two-day rally observed in the last trading days was quick to come to an end as the market returned negative.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange All-Share Index (NSE ASI) closed yesterday trading at 32,863.43 points, down by negative 1.77 per cent or 593.40 points from 33,456.83 points it closed on Tuesday.

Similarly, the market capitalization of the listed equities depreciated by N203 billion to close yesterday at N11.218 trillion as against the N11.421 trillion recorded on Tuesday, the last day of trading activities in June.

High cap stocks like Dangote cement, Guinness and Nigerian breweries aided in pulling down the index.

After close of trading activities, all sectors on the equities market returned negative as the Industrial goods sector returned the highest loss of negative 1.45per cent while the Banking sector was followed with a loss of negative 1.02per cent.

Volume of trades increased to 323 million compared to 268 million recorded in the previous trading session. Value of trades increased to N4.72 billion from N4.29 billion in the previous session. Access Bank, Zenith Bank and UBA were the most actively traded stocks in terms of volume, while Zenith Bank, Guaranty Trust Bank and Nigerian Breweries topped in terms of value.

A total number of 13 stocks recorded price appreciation while 39 stocks declined. Livestock returned highest for the day, gaining by 4.63per cent to close at N2.26, followed by Sterling Bank which also gained by 4.50per cent to close at N2.09.

On the flipside, Neimeth topped the losers table for the day, shedding negative 7.91per cent to close at N1.28 per share. Evans medical followed also losing by negative 4.96per cent to close at N1.15, while UBN also declined by 4.90per cent to close at N9.31.