The stock market falls by 0.08% while investors lose 101 billion dollars

Investors lost $101 billion on Wednesday as sell-offs in key stocks pushed the Nigerian stock market back into negative territory after two days of gains.

Massive profit taking in Dangote Sugar, Jaiz Bank, CAP, Union Dicon Salt and Haldane McCall weighed on the overall market performance.

At the close of trading, the market capitalization of the Nigerian Exchange Ltd. (NGX) fell from N126.198 trillion to N126.097 trillion, a decline of N101 billion or 0.08%.

The All-Share Index also fell 158.74 points, or 0.08%, to 196,463.22, compared to 196,621.96 recorded on Tuesday.

As a result, the year-to-date yield has fallen to 26.25%.

Market sentiment remained weak, with 37 stocks posting losses versus 22 stocks gaining at the close of trade.

Dangote Sugar and Jaiz Bank topped the list of losers, each losing 10% to close at N74.70 and N10.80 per share respectively.

CAP fell 9.97% to N84.85, while Union Dicon Salt lost 9.94% to close at N14.95.

Haldane McCall also fell 9.89% to N3.92 per share.

On the bright side, Premier Paint led the gains with a 10% rise to close at N12.10 per share.

Fortis Global Insurance rose 9.73% to N1.24, while Nigeria’s UAC gained 7.78% to close at N115 per share.

Eterna advanced 6.38% to N35, and Custodian Investment appreciated 6.06% to close at N70 per share.

Trading activity decreased compared to the previous session.

Total volume fell by 8%, value traded fell by 14%, and the number of trades fell by 18%.

In total, investors traded 805.3 million shares worth 38.4 billion naira in 71,312 trades, compared to 880 million shares worth 44.5 billion naira traded in 86,761 trades previously.

Veritas Kapital recorded the highest volume with 56.42 million shares, accounting for 7.01% of the day’s total volume.

MTN Nigeria recorded the highest transaction value of 7.08 billion naira, representing 18.42% of the total value traded.