Trading activity on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited increased significantly during the week, with investors exchanging 12.15 billion shares valued at N176.06 billion in 224,146 deals.
Gatekeepers News reports that according to the NGX weekly report, the value of transactions rose by 26.62 percent from the N139.05 billion recorded in the previous week, while trading volume jumped 126.78 percent from 5.36 billion shares. However, the number of deals declined from 261,869 to 224,146.
Despite the increase in market activity, the equities market ended the week in negative territory. The NGX All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 1.20 percent to 242,619.20 points, compared with 245,573.07 points recorded the previous week.
Market capitalisation also declined by 1.19 percent, dropping from N158.512 trillion to N156.62 trillion during the week.
The financial services sector dominated trading activity, accounting for 11.21 billion shares worth N88.99 billion across 102,246 deals.
The sector contributed 92.25 percent of total equity turnover by volume and 50.55 percent by value.
The ICT sector ranked second, recording 246.13 million shares valued at N51.61 billion in 27,169 deals, while the services sector came third with 198.20 million shares worth N2 billion traded in 13,747 deals.
Fortis Global Insurance Plc, Cornerstone Insurance Plc and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings Plc were the three most actively traded equities during the week.
The three stocks jointly accounted for 9.49 billion shares valued at N36.22 billion in 1,781 deals. Their combined volume represented 78.07 percent of total equity turnover, while they accounted for 20.57 percent of the total value traded.
Trans-Nationwide Express Plc emerged as the biggest gainer after its share price rose from N2.15 to N2.84, representing a 32.09 percent increase.
International Energy Insurance followed with a 31.68 percent gain, moving from N4.04 to N5.32, while Sovereign Trust Insurance rose 13.77 percent from N1.67 to N1.90.
Chams Holding Company gained 12.25 percent to close at N4.58 from N4.08, while CWG Plc appreciated by 9.74 percent from N19.50 to N21.40.
Ava Capital recorded the biggest decline of the week, with its share price falling 34.55 percent from N11 to N7.20.
Unilever Nigeria followed, losing 18.94 percent as its share price dropped from N145.95 to N118.30.
Zichis Agro-Allied Industries declined by 15.08 percent to N18.30, while Thomas Wyatt Nigeria fell 14.33 percent to N2.75. Dangote Sugar Refinery also declined by 11.58 percent, closing at N64.55 from N73.
The figures show that although investors significantly increased their participation and the amount of shares traded during the week, the heightened activity did not translate into overall market gains, as both the ASI and market capitalisation closed lower.
