Investors in the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) suffered a significant setback on Wednesday as the market recorded a loss of N70 billion in market capitalization amid declining stock performance indices.

According to market data, the NGX market capitalization dropped to N68.895 trillion from N68.965 trillion recorded on Tuesday, representing a 0.10 percent decline. Similarly, the All-Share Index fell by 111.37 points to close at 109,619.10, down from the previous day's 109,730.47.

Market analysts attributed the downturn to sell pressure in banking stocks and cautious trading behavior among investors. Despite the overall decline, the market breadth closed mixed with an equal number of 29 losers and 29 gainers.

Top Gainers and Losers

Among the top performers, RT Briscoe led the gainers' table with a 10 percent increase, closing at N2.09 per share. Eunisell Interlinked Plc followed closely with a 9.75 percent gain to close at N12.95, while Livestock Feeds rose by 9.61 percent to settle at N8.90. Linkage Assurance and Meyer Plc also recorded significant gains of 9.46 percent and 8.89 percent, closing at N1.62 and N9.80 per share respectively.

On the flip side, Champion Breweries and Lasaco Insurance topped the losers' chart, both declining by 10 percent to close at N7.20 and N2.52 per share respectively. McNicholas experienced a 9.45 percent drop, settling at N2.30, while Multiverse Mining shed 7.22 percent to close at N9 per share. Sovereign Trust Insurance rounded out the top losers with a 6.80 percent decline, finishing at 96 kobo per share.

Trading Volume and Activity

Trading activity showed increased volume but slightly decreased value compared to the previous session. A total of 664.16 million shares worth N12.996 billion exchanged hands across 19,439 transactions, compared to 497.06 million shares valued at N13.213 billion traded in 18,795 deals on Tuesday.

Japaul Gold dominated the activity chart with 90.02 million shares worth N186.47 million, followed by Tantalizer with 82.75 million shares valued at N231 million. Fidelity Bank, Nigerian Breweries, and Custodian Insurance also featured prominently in the day's transactions with 67.69 million, 52.24 million, and 36.49 million shares respectively.

Market watchers advise investors to maintain cautious optimism while monitoring key economic indicators and corporate earnings reports that could influence market direction in the coming days.