The Nigerian stock market closed negatively on Wednesday, October 1, as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) extended its decline amid pressure on financial stocks.

The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 701.53 points, or 0.28%, to 251,211.67 points from 251,913.20 points recorded at the previous trading session.

Market capitalisation also declined by N426 billion to N163.105 trillion from N163.531 trillion.

.NGX sector performance breakdown

.NGX Insurance Index led the losers, declining by 1.01%.

.NGX Banking Index followed with a decline of 0.58%.

.NGX Industrial Goods Index gained 0.66%.

.NGX Consumer Goods Index rose by 0.04%.

.NGX Energy Index also increased by 0.04%.

The market recorded 25 price gainers against 28 losers, indicating negative market breadth and weak investor sentiment.

NGX top losers

Learn Africa fell by 10.00% to N7.65.

Thomas Wyatt declined by 9.80% to N2.67.

Sovereign Trust Insurance dropped by 6.78% to N2.20.

Guinea Insurance fell by 6.67% to 70 kobo.

Fidelity Bank decreased by 0.07% to N7.12.

NGX top gainers

.Haldane McCall rose by 10.00% to N3.41.

.CMFC gained 9.92% to N4.32.

.Cornerstone Insurance increased by 9.80% to N5.60.

.Livingtrust Mortgage Bank advanced by 9.79% to N3.14.

.ABC Transport gained 9.76% to N6.75

Most active stocks on NGX
A total of 1.0 billion shares worth N53.6 billion were exchanged in 44,469 deals.

.VFD Group led with 367.3 million shares valued at N4.9 billion.

.UAC Nigeria traded 158.2 million shares worth N21.5 billion.

.Abbey Bank exchanged 72.4 million shares valued at N507.1 million.

.Chams traded 63.9 million shares worth N199.8 million.

.GTCO recorded 39.6 million shares valued at N5.3 billion.

Trading volume and value increased by 82.85% and 56.27%, respectively, compared with Tuesday, while the number of deals declined by 5.99%.

Apps to buy Dangote refinery shares

Earlier, Legit.ng reported that Investors seeking to participate in the Dangote Refinery initial public offering (IPO) can purchase shares through a wide range of approved financial intermediaries, including banks, stockbrokers, fintech platforms and investment applications.

The platforms are part of the financial intermediary network designated to facilitate subscriptions to the offer, giving investors multiple channels through which they can submit applications.

The available options include the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) Invest Portal, several com-mercial banks, investment firms and digital investment platforms.