The Nigerian Exchange closed negative on Thursday as bearish trading sentiments wiped off N438bn from investors' wealth, dragging the equities market capitalisation to N88.9tn at the end of the day's transactions.
The All-Share Index shed 691.52 points, or 0.49 per cent, to close at 140,557.24 points compared with 141,248.76 points recorded in the previous session. This downturn trimmed the Exchange's week-to-date gain to 0.16 per cent and month-to-date return to 0.5 per cent, though the year-to-date growth remains strong at 36.56 per cent.
Market turnover also showed heightened activity as investors exchanged 884.96m shares valued at N28.25bn in 26,129 deals. This represented a 30 per cent improvement in volume and a 27 per cent rise in value, even though the number of deals declined nine per cent when compared with Wednesday's trading session.