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NSE! High-cap stocks drag equities to marginal loss

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NSE! High-cap stocks drag equities to marginal loss

Nigerian equities closed on the negative on Wednesday as losses by large-cap stocks overshadowed the overall market situation.

Despite preponderance of advancers to decliners, benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated average decline of 0.04 per cent, representing a marginal loss of N6 billion.

With 24 advancers to 18 decliners, the negative overall market position was largely due to losses recorded by high-cap stocks such as Nigerian Breweries, Seplat petroleum Development Company, Lafarge Africa and UAC of Nigeria (UACN).

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities declined from its opening value of N14.734 trillion to close at N14.728 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based index that tracks share prices at the NSE, also dropped simultaneously from its opening index of 40,788.68 points to close at 40,772.26 points. With this, average year-to-date return dipped to 6.61 per cent.

Most sectoral indices also closed negative, underlining the weight of the sector leaders. The NSE Oil & Gas Index declined by 1.7 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index dropped by 1.0 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index dipped by 0.4 per cent. However, the NSE Banking Index appreciated by 0.2 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index inched up by 0.1 per cent.

Read also: NSE REPORT: Equities break into new rally with N93bn gain

Seplat led the decliners with a loss of N23.90 to close at N702. International Breweries followed with a drop of N1.05 to close at N48.95. Lafarge Africa dropped by 95 kobo to close at N45.65. Nigerian Breweries declined by 90 kobo to close at N126. Union Bank of Nigeria lost 30 kobo to close at N6 while UAC of Nigeria dropped by 25 kobo to close at N16.95 per share.

On the positive side, Julius Berger Nigeria led the advancers with a gain of N1.05 to close at N27. Oando followed with a gain of 80 kobo to close at N9.05. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated appreciated by 50 kobo to close at N19.50. Northern Nigeria Flour Mills chalked up 30 kobo to close at N6.85. Fidson Healthcare rallied a gain of 26 kobo to close at N5.77 while Guaranty Trust Bank added 25 kobo to close at N44.35 per share.

The momentum of activities also slowed down considerably as turnover dropped below average to 230.17 million shares valued at N4.32 billion in 4,090 deals. Guaranty Trust Bank, which released its first quarter 2018 results, was the most active stock with a turnover of 67.37 million shares valued at N2.99 billion. Fidelity Bank followed with a turnover of 14.94 million shares worth N38.41 million while FBN Holdings placed third with 14.68 million shares worth N182.70.

Most pundits retained their positive projection for the equities market, despite the decline on Wednesday.

“Despite the drag in today (Wednesday)’s performance, we believe bargain hunting opportunities still exist, however we do not rule out the possibility of further profit taking on some stocks in subsequent trading sessions,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

“We expect mixed sentiment in the subsequent trading sessions,” SCM Capital stated.

 

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