The Nigerian stock market closed lower on Thursday as profit-taking by investors dragged market capitalisation down by N557bn to N105.89tn. The All-Share Index fell by 870 points to 165,397, reflecting cautious trading amid mixed market performance.

A total of 768.2 million shares were exchanged in 46,457 deals, corresponding to a market value of N21.18bn. Compared with Wednesday, trading volume declined by seven per cent, turnover fell by 15 per cent, while the number of deals improved by seven per cent, signalling continued investor interest despite the pullback.

Of the 131 NGX-listed equities that traded, 37 gained in value while 39 closed lower. NCR Nigeria led the gainers with a 10 per cent appreciation, closing at N188.15 per share.

It was followed by Union Homes Real Estate Investment, John Holt and Infinity Trust Mortgage Bank, all recording 10 per cent growth.

On the losing side, Omatek Ventures recorded the largest decline of 9.4 per cent to close at N2.12 per share. Other notable losers included International Energy Insurance with a 6.06 per cent drop, International Breweries down 6 per cent and N.E.M. Insurance Company shedding 5.6 per cent.

High trading volumes were recorded in Access Holdings with 54.3 million shares, Deap Capital Management & Trust with 51.2 million, Tantalizers with 41.9 million and Omatek Ventures with 33.5 million shares exchanged.

The PUNCH reported that the Nigerian Exchange Limited closed Wednesday’s trading session on a positive note, as equities gained marginally amid broad-based buying interest that lifted market capitalisation by N6.88bn.