Equities lose N113b in opening trades

Nigerian equities reopened on Monday with a resurgent sell pressure shaving off N113 billion from market values of quoted companies.

With more than three decliners to every advancer, the market situation was overwhelmed by sell pressure orchestrated by profit-taking transactions and liquidity squeeze occasioned by the forthcoming Muslim’s Eid-ul-Kabir festival.

Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed a day-on-day decline of 0.90 per cent, equivalent to net capital depreciation of N113 billion.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the NSE dropped from its opening value of N12.631 trillion to close at N12.518 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the main value-based index that tracks prices at the Exchange, also declined from its opening index of 36,646.46 points to close at 36,317.31 points.

Most sectoral indices also closed negative. The NSE Banking Index dropped by 1.6 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index dropped by 1.4 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index dipped by 0.2 per cent. On the upside, the NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 0.3 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index inched up by 0.2 per cent.

The decline shaved the average year-to-date return to 35.14 per cent.

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Mobil Oil Nigeria led the 30-stock losers’ list with a drop of N9.62 to close at N182.93. Nigerian Breweries followed with a loss of N4.99 to close at N185.01. Guinness Nigeria lost N3.43 to close at N78.07. Conoil dropped by N1.37 to close at N27.70. Unilever Nigeria depreciated by N1.30 to close at N40. Guaranty Trust Bank lost N1.20 to close at N39.20. Dangote Cement declined by N1.01 to close at N214.99. Flour Mills lost 84 kobo to close at N29.10. Zenith Bank dipped by 30 kobo to close at N22.80 while Access Bank declined by 15 kobo to close at N10 per share.

Total turnover stood at 348.11 million shares valued at N2.98 billion in 3,276 deals. The three most active stocks were Custodian and Allied, with 190.55 million shares; Oando, 27.37 million shares and Access Bank, which recorded a turnover of 14.94 million shares.

On the positive side, Total Oil Nigeria led eight other stocks with a gain of N19.70 to close at N236.50. PZ Cussons Nigeria rose by 89 kobo to close at N26.89. Newrest ASL appreciated by 27 kobo to close at N5.68. Dangote Sugar Refinery added 25 kobo to close at N13.90 while Nigeria Aviation Handling Company and Vitafoam Nigeria chalked up 12 kobo each to close at N3.40 and N2.79 respectively.

“Consequent on the fact that several value stocks are currently trading at relatively high prices, we believe that the sell sentiment witnessed in the prior week may continue to drag market performance. Nevertheless, we do not rule out bargain hunting opportunities in subsequent trading sessions ahead,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

 

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