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NSE LIVE! Equities lose N297b as index slips to new low

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NSE LIVE! Equities’ rally widens with N44b gain

Nigerian equities lost N297 billion yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the fourth consecutive loss as the stock market struggled with large sell orders amidst dwindling demand. The benchmark index at the NSE, the All Share Index (ASI), declined by 3.44 per cent to reach a new low at 24,239.98 points. The ASI had opened at 25,103.05 points.

The steep decline yesterday pushed the nine-day average year-to-date return at the stock market to -15.37 per cent.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities dropped from its opening value of N8.633 trillion to close at N8.336 trillion., representing a loss of N297 billion or 3.44 per cent. There were 31 losers against five gainers. Most other stocks remained stuck at nominal value of 50 kobo.

Group and sectoral indices showed widespread negative sentiments as sustained steep decline continued to fuel investors’ fear over the short to medium term outlook of the stock market. The NSE Banking Index depreciated by 4.7 per cent. The NSE Oil & Gas Index fell by 3.1 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index lost 2.5 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index dropped by 2.4 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index declined by 0.9 per cent.

Read also: NSE LIVE! Equities lose N321b in 2016 worst trading

Seplat Petroleum Development Company led the losers with a loss of N19.11 to close at N176.96. Dangote Cement followed with a loss of N7.27 to close at N138.18. Mobil Oil Nigeria dropped by N6.20 to close at N145. Guinness Nigeria lost N5.99 to close at N113.99 while Total Nigeria dropped by N5.92 to close at N150 per share.

Total turnover stood at 262.52 million shares valued at N2.41 billion in 2,587 deals. The three most actively traded stocks were: FBN Holdings, with 76.44 million shares; Guaranty Trust Bank, 42.51 million shares and Zenith Bank, which recorded 42.22 million shares.

“The poor market performance is expected to persist in the interim until some changes in the macroeconomic space are seen which might excite investors and change sentiments in the market. Hence we maintain that investors take a more long term approach towards investment in equities and overweight fixed income,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

On the positive side, Ikeja Hotel led the gainers with a gain of 14 kobo to close at N3.10. Honeywell Flour Mills added 8.0 kobo to close at N1.80. Fidelity Bank and Custodian and Allied gathered 5.0 kobo each to close at N1.35 and N4.25 respectively while AG Leventis inched up by 2.0 kobo to close at 61 kobo.

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