There was no respite for investors on the trading floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Wednesday as activities continued on bearish note on the back of renewed effort by majority of investors to take profit following the marginal gains recorded the previous week.

The market had last week relapsed on resumption from Muslim holiday as supply continued to outweigh demand following efforts to raise cash for the festive season.

Analysis of numbers released by the NSE showed that the Exchange’s benchmark All-share Index or ASI declined by 0.15 per cent to close at 20,372.92 points, higher than the decline by 0.11 per cent recorded the preceding day to close at 20,404.23 points.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation, which mirrors the total amount of investment in the market depreciated by N9.85 billion to close at N6.41trillion, compared to the depreciation by N6.91bilion recorded the preceding day to close at N6.42 trillion.

Meanwhile, the banking subsector remained the most active in terms of the volume of shares traded. It led the equities sector with a total of 197.16 million ordinary shares valued at N762.7 million made in 1,981 deals.

The volume of shares sold in the banking sector was largely driven by the activity in the shares of Wema Bank Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and First Bank of Nigeria Plc.

Trading on the shares of the four banks accounted for 158.4 million ordinary shares or 80.3 per cent of the subsectors’ turnover.

Forte Oil Plc led the gainers’ table with 58 kobo or five per cent to close at N12.19 per share, followed by Red Star Express Plc with 10 kobo or 4.72 per cent to close at N2.22 per share.

Ecobank Plc added 9 kobo or 4.62 per cent to close at N2.04 per share, while Ikeja Hotel Plc rose by 13 kobo or 4.51 per cent to close at N3.01 per share. Premier Breweries Plc closed at 97 kobo, up by four kobo or 4.30 per cent.

On the flip side, Custodian Insurance Plc lost 14 kobo or 4.98 per cent to close at N2.67 per share, while Cadbury Nigeria Plc dipped by 66 kobo or 4.96 per cent to close at N12.64 per share.

Dangote Sugar Plc depreciated by 23 kobo or 4.95 per cent to close at N4.42 per share, while Vitafoam Plc dropped by 29 kobo or 4.94 per cent to close at N5.58 per share. CI Leasing Plc declined by four kobo or 4.94 per cent to close at 77 kobo per share.

In all, a total of 282.36 million shares valued at N1.40 billion in 3,583 deals were exchanged on yesterday, in contrast to 249.25 million shares worth N3.56bn in 3,596 deals the preceding day, representing 13.3 per cent increase in the volume traded.

Meanwhile, Courteville Business Solutions Plc has announced a turnover of N810.173 million for the third quarter ended September 31, 2011, indicating an increase of 25 per cent over N648.852 million in the corresponding period of 2010.

Its unaudited result made available to the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that Profit after Tax (PAT) also grew from N161.548 million to N198.271 million in 2011 showing a growth of 23 per cent. Profit Before Tax (PBT) increased from N192.315 million to N233.260 million in the review period of 2011 representing an increase of 21 per cent.

Source: ThisDay/Goddy Egene