The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) sustained losses for the third consecutive session to commence trading for the month of June on a downward note yesterday, as market capitalisation dropped further by N9 billion.

Specifically, at the re-opening of transactions for the month of June, the All-Share Index fell by 16.13 absolute points, representing a decrease of 0.03 per cent to close at 52,974.15 points.

Accordingly, investors lost N9 billion in value as market capitalisation declined to N28.559 trillion.

The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Okomu Oil, Conoil, Unilever Nigeria, FBN Holdings (FBNH) and NCR Nigeria.

On market performance, GTI Securities Limited said: “Profit-taking continued in yesterday’s trading as all the market sectors closed negative excluding the consumer goods sector, which increased by 0.09 per cent.

“We expect fixed income rates to continue to be appealing to investors in the near term.”

Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “The new month kicked off on a relatively tepid note as investors continue to trade cautiously given the higher yields in the Fixed income space and current bearish sentiment. We anticipate another mixed trading session amid bargain hunting activities.”

Also, market sentiment, as measured by market breadth, closed negative as 20 stocks declined, while 14 others appreciated in price.

Okomu Oil led the losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at N193.50 kobo while NCR Nigeria followed with a decline of 9.77 per cent to close at N3.60 kobo. Conoil depreciated by 8.35 per cent to close at N29.30 kobo.

Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals declined by 7.19 per cent to close at N1.55 kobo while Fidelity Bank depreciated by 4.71 per cent to close at N3.24 kobo.

On the other hand, Eterna Plc recorded the highest price gain of 9.90 per cent to close at N7.44 kobo.

FTN Cocoa processors followed with a gain of 9.38 per cent to close at 35 kobo while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) rose by 8.57 per cent to close at N7.22 kobo.

Ikeja Hotel rose by 7.83 per cent to close at N1.24 kobo while Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) appreciated by 4.00 per cent to close at N1.30 kobo.

Meanwhile, the total volume traded decreased by 7.20 per cent to 295.354 million units, valued at N3.590 billion, and exchanged in 4,637 deals. Transactions in the shares of Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) topped the activity chart with 121.837 million shares valued at N156.150 million.

Guaranty Trust Holding Company followed with 20.124 million shares worth N454.746 million, while Conoil traded 16.955 million shares valued at N493.420 million.

Sterling Bank traded 16.051 million shares valued at N23.696 million, while Royal Exchange transacted 11.825 million shares worth N11.018 million.