Access Holdings Plc emerged as the most actively traded stock on the Nigerian Exchange on Wednesday after investors exchanged 99.37 million shares worth N2.75 billion.
The financial services group accounted for approximately 31.6 percent of the total 314.91 million shares traded across the equities market during the session.
The concentration meant that almost one in every three shares exchanged on the NGX during Wednesday’s trading was an Access Holdings share.
Access Holdings also recorded a sharp increase in activity compared with the previous session when 57.02 million shares worth N1.61 billion changed hands.
Wednesday’s volume therefore increased by about 74.3 percent, while the value of transactions in the stock climbed approximately 70.9 percent.
The surge came despite a broader decline in market activity.
Total equity volume dropped to 314.91 million shares from 394.20 million shares on Tuesday, while the number of deals declined to 30,956 from 38,707.
However, overall transaction value increased to N28.59 billion from N21.38 billion.
Zenith Bank ranked behind Access Holdings with 17.77 million shares worth N2.27 billion, while Livestock Feeds recorded 13.38 million shares valued at N214.16 million.
GTCO followed with 12.17 million shares worth N1.56 billion, while UBA recorded 11.74 million shares valued at N504.70 million.
Together, Access Holdings, Zenith Bank, GTCO and UBA accounted for approximately 141.05 million shares, representing about 44.8 percent of total market volume.
Access Holdings alone, however, traded more shares than Zenith Bank, Livestock Feeds, GTCO and UBA combined, underscoring the unusually heavy concentration of Wednesday’s trading activity in the stock.
The increased activity in Access Holdings came as the broader market recovered marginally with the NGX All-Share Index gaining 0.06 percent to 247,673.65 points after two consecutive sessions of decline.