Stock trading volume falls by 19%

The number of shares traded on Thursday on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited dropped by 18.88 per cent as the market capitalisation of equities fell by N3bn.

The NGX All-Share Index saw a decline of 0.01 per cent while the market capitalisation dropped to N19.729tn from N19.732tn.

The number of shares traded dropped to 159.59 million in 3038 deals from 197.23 million in 3,610 deals on Wednesday while the value of shares traded plunged by 56.54 per cent to N927.86m from N2.14bn.

The oil and gas industry led sectoral gains with a 0.80 per cent increase in its index. It was followed closely by the NGX Banking Index with a 0.70 per cent gain.

The consumer goods industry recorded a loss with a 0.7 per cent drop while the NGX Industrial Index remained flat.

The stock market sentiment was positive with 18 companies seeing gains on their share prices at the end of trading while 16 companies recorded losses.

Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc led the gainers with a 10.00 per cent jump in its share price, closing at N0.33. FTN Cocoa Processors Plc was second on the list with a N9.76 per cent increase as it ended the day at N1.25 per share.

CWG Plc rose by 9.65 per cent to close the day at N1.25 per share. AIICO Insurance Plc and Red Star Express Plc gained 8.04 per cent each.

Topping the losers’ chart was Ikeja Hotel Plc, which dropped by 9.29 per cent to close at N1.27 per share, while UACN Property Development Company Plc lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.30 per share.

Other top losers were Coronation Insurance Plc (-8.47 per cent), University Press Plc (-7.24 per cent) and Unity Bank Plc (-6.35 per cent)