The Nigerian Exchange closed on a negative note on Thursday as sell pressure in key stocks dragged the benchmark index lower, leading to a loss of N371 billion in investors’ wealth.

At the close of trading, the All-Share Index declined by 584.32 points or 0.38 per cent to settle at 153,676.66 points, while market capitalisation fell to N97.6 tn from N97.97 tn recorded in the previous session.

Trading activity improved across major indicators as investors exchanged 495.85 million shares worth N29.56 bn in 28,926 deals. This represented a nine per cent rise in volume, a 99 per cent increase in value, and a five per cent growth in the number of deals compared to Wednesday’s session.

Market breadth remained negative, with 40 losers against 20 gainers. Oando Plc led the gainers’ chart with a 9.99 per cent increase to close at N46.80 per share, followed by Aso Savings and Loans with a 9.3 per cent gain, AIICO Insurance with a 5.26 per cent gain, and May & Baker Nigeria with a five per cent increase.

On the losing side, Cadbury Nigeria, International Breweries, and Chams recorded a 10 per cent decline each to close at N62.55, N12.60, and N3.51 per share, respectively, while Learn Africa dropped by 9.92 per cent to N5.90 per share.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company led the activity chart in volume and value with 97.9 million shares worth N8.72 bn, followed by Aso Savings with 75.4 million shares, Chams with 24.6 million shares, and AIICO Insurance with 16.2 million shares.

Sectoral performance was mixed as the Banking Index recorded a marginal gain of 0.06 per cent, while the Industrial, Premium, and Pension indices declined by 0.25 per cent, 0.11 per cent, and 0.39 per cent, respectively.

Analysts attributed the bearish sentiment to profit-taking in large-cap stocks and cautious trading by investors ahead of month-end portfolio rebalancing.