Equities trading at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) ended the first trading of the week lower as investors took profits off Julius Berger, resulting in a 0.24 percent decline in the All-share index (ASI) to 96,206.18 basis points.

The market saw a supplementary listing of 8 billion ordinary shares of Japaul Gold &Venture which slightly softened the decline in market capitalization to 0.20 percent, bringing it to N55.28 trillion, compared to the 0.24 percent drop reflected by the ASI.

As a result, equity investors recorded a loss of N111 billion in their portfolios.

Accordingly, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns printed -0.4 percent and +28.7 percent, respectively.

However, as measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive as 32 tickers gained while 20

Leading the decliners were Julius Berger, Transcorp Power, McNicholas, University Press and Cutix, each experienced significant share price losses by 10.0 percent, 9.99 percent, 9.40 percent, 8.99 percent and 6.0 percent, respectively.

Conversely, the top gainers were Eterna, Tantalizer, Oando, FTN Cocoa Processor and UACN all posted substantial price increases by 10.0 percent, 10.0 percent, 9.95 percent, 9.93 percent and 9.81 percent, respectively.

Sectoral performance was mixed; the Banking, Insurance, and Oil & Gas indexes posted gains of 0.68 percent, 2.48 percent, and 1.14 percent, respectively, driven by investor interest in stocks such as Jaiz Bank. Wema Bank, Cornerstone Insurance, AIICO Insurance, Eterna and Oando.

On the other hand, the Consumer Goods and Industrial Goods indexes recorded slight declines of 0.43 percent and 0.04 percent, respectively.

Trading activity on the local bourse for the day under review showed robust performance, with the total number of deals, traded volumes, and values increasing by 30.46 percent, 97.29 percent, and 21.82 percent, respectively, to 10,412 deals, 774.38 million units, and N14.65 billion.

Jaiz Bank was the most actively traded stock by volume, with 247.04 million units changing hands in 162 transactions, while Zenith Bank led in traded value, totaling N6.42 billion.

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