Sell pressure persisted on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday with the crucial market indicators depleted further by 0.13 per cent.

Specifically, the All-Share Index which opened at 31,082.32 shed 41.48 points or 0.13 per cent to close at 31,040.84.

Similarly, the market capitalisation lost N16 billion to close at N11.575 trillion compared with N11.591 trillion posted on Tuesday.

Mr Ambrose Omordion, the Chief Operating Officer, InvestData Ltd. , attributed the development to dwindling investor confidence and low liquidity in the equity market.

Omordion said that the market was awaiting economic policy and reforms in the new dispensation.

In the breakdown, Nestle recorded the highest loss, dropping by N26.60 to close at N1,500 per share.

Beta Glass trailed with a loss of N7.05 to close at N71.95, while Cadbury dropped by N1.00 to close at N11 per share.

Stanbic IBTC was down by 80k to close at N47, while Nigerian Breweries dropped by 50k to close at N69.50 per share.

Conversely, Access Bank led the gainers’ table, increasing by 55k to close at N6.50 per share.

Dangote Flour followed with a gain of 40k to close at N11.30, while Glaxosmithkline added 30k to close at N10.80 per share.

UACN grew by 30k to close at N8, while Zenith Bank garnered 20k to close at N22.20 per share.

However, the banking sector remained the most traded with Access Bank emerging the most active stock, trading 83.19 million shares worth N529.94 million.

Zenith Bank trailed with an account of 22.451 million shares valued at N494.67 million, while Fidelity Bank sold 16.32 million shares worth N38.09 million.

United Bank for Africa sold 15.09 million shares valued at N116.08 million, while FCMB Group exchanged 13.47 million shares worth N26.51 million.

In all, a total of 223.66 million shares valued at N2.16 billion was traded by investors in 3,419 deals, a decrease of 22.04 per cent.

This was in contrast with a turnover of 286.89 million shares worth N3.09 billion achieved in 3,924 deals on Tuesday.

(NAN)