NSE LIVE!… Dangote Cement leads Equities to N203b loss

In from Success Allantee…

Dangote Cement, the most capitalised stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which had led the N71 billion-gain that closed the last trading session of the first half, also led a dramatic reversal as the market opened the second half with a N203 billion loss.

The steep decline on Wednesday almost wiped off the gains recorded in two consecutive upswings in the previous trading sessions. Nigerian equities had opened this week with a N135 billion gain and followed this with N71 billion gain on Tuesday.

With three losers for every gainer, the All Share Index (ASI), the benchmark index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, dropped by 1.77 per cent to 32,863.43 points as against its opening index of 33,456.83 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities followed the downtrend, dropping by N203 billion to close at N11.218 trillion as against N11.421 trillion.

The steep decline worsened the negative overall average year-to-date return to -5.18 per cent. The downtrend was both orchestrated by widespread selling sentiments as well as losses recorded within the group of highly capitalised stocks that dictate the market direction.

Analysts remained cautious amidst concerns that there is no major leverage for the market to break away from its recent topsy-turvy.

“Tomorrow`s trading session may likely follow similar pattern as we expect the current mood to continue,” analysts at SCM Capital stated in post-market review.

Analysts at Afrinvest Securities said the bearish momentum yesterday was broadly driven by half year portfolio reallocation.

“We reiterate our earlier position that investors should bet on fundamentally sound tickers ahead of half year earnings releases,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

Dangote Cement, the most capitalised stock on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), which had led the upswing in the previous trading session, also led the losing spree yesterday, dropping by N8 to close at N172. Nestle Nigeria, NSE’s highest-priced stock, followed with a loss of N7 to close at N850. Mobil Oil Nigeria placed third with a drop of N5 to close at N150. Guinness Nigeria lost N2.53 to close at N160.28. Unilever Nigeria dropped by N1.50 to close at N44. Nigerian Breweries dwindled by N1.48 to close at N148.50 while Stanbic IBTC Holdings dropped by N1.07 to close at N25.93 per share.

Read Also: NSE LIVE!… Equities sustain upswing on half-year rally

On the other hand, Seven-Up Bottling Company, which on Monday announced its dividend recommendation of N2.75 per share, led the gainers with a gain of N6.90 to close at N186. Lafarge Africa followed with a gain of N1.01 to close at N103. Presco rose by N1 to close at N36 while Beta Glass added 50 kobo to close at N36 per share.

Turnover was above average with the exchange of 323.56 million shares valued at N4.73 billion in 4,096 deals. Banking stocks dominated the activities chart. Access Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 71.43 million shares valued at N389.41 million in 311 deals. Zenith Bank followed with a turnover of 63.63 million shares worth N1.23 billion in 412 deals while United Bank for Africa placed third with 38.16 million shares valued at N188.05 million in 218 deals.

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