The Nigerian stock market resumed trading this week on a negative note as the All-Share Index moderated by 0.10 per cent to close at 38,287 points.
The market had closed last week in the red zone after trading for five consecutive seasons of losses and shedding over N600bn.
On the floor of the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Monday, the market capitalisation also dropped further by 0.10 per cent to close at N19.96tn, while investors traded at a loss of N19.02bn.
On the losers and gainers table, 18 stocks appreciated while 17 stocks declined, even as the year-to-date loss of the ASI rose to -4.92 per cent.
The slow growth recorded in the country’s real Gross Domestic Product in the first quarter of 2021 as announced on Sunday by the National Bureau of Statistics could not quench the negative sentiment in the market.
At the close of the day’s trading, stocks such as Guaranty Trust Bank, Eterna, Access Bank and AIICO Insurance closed lower by 0.85 per cent, 2.50 per cent, 0.15 per cent and 0.06 per cent amid sell pressure.
Sectoral performance was weak as three out of the five indices tracked closed in the red zone.
The banking, insurance and consumer goods indices fell by 0.68 per cent, 0.75 per cent and 0.68 per cent respectively, while the industrial and oil and gas indices rose by 0.09 per cent and 0.21 per cent.
At the close of trading, the total volume of stock was 141.15 million units, valued at N1.09bn in 3,566 deals.
