NSE LIVE! Equities continue downtrend amidst mixed earnings 

Nigerian equities stumbled again on Thursday as early first half earnings showed mixed performance. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated average decline of 0.10 per cent, equivalent to a loss of N9 billion.

The sustained decline came as Nigerian Breweries, stock market’s second most capitalised stock, released its first half results showing 3.8 per cent growth in revenue and 11.2 per cent decline in net profit. Meanwhile, another company, United Capital also released half-year earnings, indicating strong performance.

With 21 losers to 16 gainers, aggregate market value of all quoted companies on the NSE dropped from N9.867 trillion to close at N9.858 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI), the main index that tracks prices of quoted equities, slipped from 28,730.42 points to close at 28,703.09 points. With this, the average year to date return dwindled to 0.21 per cent.

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Sectoral indices showed improved sentiments in the oil and gas as well as consumer goods sectors while most other sectors remained negative. The NSE Banking Index declined by 1.5 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index dipped by 0.01 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index declined by 0.6 per cent. Meanwhile, the NSE Oil & Gas Index rose by 1.3 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index added 0.4 per cent.

Guinness Nigeria led the losers with a loss of N3.36 to close at N97.60 per share. MRS Oil dropped by N1.68 to close at N31.93. Guaranty Trust Bank and PZ Cussons Nigeria lost 70 kobo to close at N23.09 and N21 respectively while Okomu Oil Palm dropped by 22 kobo to close at N31.28 per share.

“We expect market performance to be driven by half-year 2016 earnings releases going forward. Our position is buttressed by the performance of United Capital and Nigerian Breweries following the release of their results. Thus, we advise investors to stick to stocks with consistent interim dividend history,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

On the upside, Forte Oil led the gainers with a gain of N7.78 to close at N163.53. Unilever Nigeria rose by N1.59 to close at N33.39. Nigerian Breweries chalked up 95 kobo to close at N134. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria lost 50 kobo to close at N18.50 while Cadbury Nigeria garnered 30 kobo to close at N16.30 per share.

Total turnover stood at 203.57 million shares valued at N2.49 billion in 3,805 deals. The most active stock was FBN Holdings with a turnover of 32.91 million shares worth N122.13 million. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria placed second with a turnover of 30.64 million shares valued at 50.27 million while Zenith Bank recorded a turnover of 25.84 million shares worth N416.14 million.

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