The Nigerian equities market closed lower on Thursday as profit-taking activities dominated trading in the consumer goods and oil and gas sectors.
The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 0.39 percent from 121,257.69 points in the previous session to 120,772.68 points while the market capitalisation fell by approximately ₦308 billion to settle at ₦76.453 trillion compared to ₦76.761 trillion a day earlier.
Major drags on the market came from sell-offs in stocks such as NAHCO, Oando and Champion Breweries. NAHCO declined by 9.99 percent from ₦101.10 to ₦91.00.
Oando Plc also recorded a decline of 9.96 percent to close at ₦61.90 from ₦68.75 the previous day. Champion Breweries lost 8.34 percent, sliding from ₦10.91 to ₦10.00 per share.
Despite moderate bargain hunting in industrial and insurance counters, the negative sentiment in oil and consumer goods outweighed gains in other segments.
Market activity showed a total of 892.97 million shares exchanged in 25,375 deals, with a turnover of ₦18.225 billion. Ellah Lakes, Caverton Offshore, Access Holdings, Japaul Gold and Zenith Bank emerged among the most actively traded stocks during the session.
Analysts expect the market to trade cautiously in the coming sessions as investors continue to book profits on recent price rallies while awaiting fresh triggers.
