NSE LIVE! Equities lose N129b as downtrend worsens

The downtrend that has dominated the stock market since Monday worsened on Wednesdayas uncertainties over the modality for the flexible foreign exchange option of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) kept investors on the sidelines.

With 28 decliners to 16 advancers, investors lost N129 billion in the buyers’ market that forced most transactions to lower prices. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) dropped from N9.436 trillion to close at N9.307 trillion.

The All Share Index (ASI)-the common index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, declined by 1.37 per cent from 27,475.48 points to close at 27,098.18 points. The sustained decline pushed the average year-to-date return at the stock market to -5.39 per cent.

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Most group indices at the stock market showed widespread losses across the sectors. The NSE Banking Index dropped by 0.3 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index declined by 1.1 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index dropped by 2.2 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index lost 1.8 per cent. Meanwhile, the NSE Oil and Gas Index appreciated by 2.7 per cent.

Nigerian Breweries, Nigeria’s second most capitalised stock, led the losers with a loss of N6.52 to close at N130.01. Dangote Cement, the most capitalised company at the stock market, followed with a loss of N4.99 to close at N165. CAP dropped by N1.88 to close at N36.12.Dangote Sugar Refinery lost 47 kobo to close at N6.33 while Guaranty Trust Bank and Nascon Allied Industries dropped by 20 kobo each to close at N18.50 and N8 respectively.

Investors meanwhile remained focused on low-priced equities. Turnover stood at 261 million shares worth N1.22 billion in 3,591 deals. Wapic Insurance was the most active stock with a turnover of N60.93 million shares valued at N30.47 million. Access Bank followed with a turnover of 34.87 million shares worth N185.30 million while United Bank for Africa placed third with 19.58 million shares valued at N82.36 million.

Meanwhile, Forte Oil led the gainers with a gain of N9.80 to close at N205.80. Nestle Nigeria followed with a gain of N2 to close at N757. Flour Mills of Nigeria rose by N1.06 to close at N22.36. UAC of Nigeria rallied 85 kobo to close at N19.85. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated rose by 62 kobo to close at N17.12 while Oando added 53 kobo to close at N7.25.

“The week-long negative performance remained driven by profit-taking as well as weakening sentiment as pin drop quietness emanating from the apex bank regarding proposed flexible foreign exchange policies lingers,” analysts at Afrinvest Securities noted.

Analysts however said the market could rebound towards the end of the week as speculators renew hunting for bargain stocks-undervalued stocks with potential for immediate capital appreciation.

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