Trading activity on the Nigerian equities market declined last week as investors exchanged shares worth about N164.84 billion.
This is according to data released by the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
In its weekly market report, the NGX said a total of 3.32 billion shares were traded in 318,907 deals during the week.
The figure represents a drop from the previous week when investors traded 3.69 billion shares valued at N177.68 billion in 370,980 transactions.
Despite the decline in turnover, the market recorded a slight improvement in overall valuation.
Market capitalisation climbed to N127.36 trillion following a 0.73 percent rise in the all-share index (ASI), which moved from 196,968.15 points to 198,407.30 points.
The report showed that the financial services sector recorded the highest level of activity on the exchange.
Investors traded 2.17 billion shares in the sector valued at N59.8 billion across 124,992 deals.
This accounted for 65.61 percent of the total equity turnover volume and 36.28 percent of the value recorded during the week.
The oil and gas sector followed with 207.69 million shares worth N27.6 billion exchanged in 32,820 deals.
In third place was the consumer goods sector, where investors traded 189.63 million shares valued at N11.85 billion across 34,288 deals.
According to the NGX report, the most actively traded stocks were Access Holdings Plc, Fortis Global Insurance Plc, and First Holdco Plc.
Together, the three companies accounted for 677.31 million shares worth N14.56 billion in 17,346 deals, representing 20.39 percent of the total trading volume and 8.83 percent of the total value.
Among the week’s best-performing stocks, Premier Paints Plc recorded the highest gain as its share price rose by 32.88 percent, climbing from N14.6 to N19.4.
Conoil Plc followed with a 20.95 percent increase, rising from N169 to N204.
Similarly, BUA Cement Plc appreciated by 20 percent to close at N270, while Fidson Healthcare Plc gained 19.04 percent to settle at N105.35.
Omatek Ventures Plc also posted a notable increase of 18.18 percent during the week.
Top losers
On the losing side, SCOA Nigeria Plc recorded the steepest drop, declining by 34.06 percent to close at N22.65 from N34.35.
Fortis Global Insurance Plc fell by 20.81 percent, while Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc lost 20.68 percent of its share price.
Also, Aluminium Extrusion Industries Plc and LivingTrust Mortgage Bank Plc also recorded notable declines during the trading week.
