NSE LIVE! Equities’ return hits 9-month low at -20.37%

The downtrend at the Nigerian stock market worsened Tuesday as investors continued their sell down on equities, pushing most share prices to close lower. The benchmark index at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) indicated a day-on-day decline of 0.80 per cent, equivalent to a loss of N73 billion.
The decline pushed the average year-to-date return at the stock exchange to a new low of -20.37 per cent, its lowest since February 13, 2015.
Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the NSE dropped from N9.563 trillion to close at N9.49 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based common index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, also slipped correspondingly from 27,820.49 points to close at 27,596.81 points.
All sectoral indices also closed in the negative. The NSE Industrial Goods Index dropped by 1.6 per cent. The NSE Banking Index declined by 0.3 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index slipped by 0.3 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index dropped by two basis points.

Read also: NSE LIVE! Investors lose N107b in 5 hours

There were 21 losers against 12 gainers during the five-hour trading session. Dangote Cement, NSE’s most capitalised stock, topped the losers’ list with a loss of N4 to close at N158. CAP and Lafarge Africa followed with a loss of 50 kobo each to close at N38 and N89 respectively. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria dropped by 40 kobo to close at N7.61 while Oando lost 32 kobo to close at N5.87 per share.
“The performance of the stock market continues to be influenced by challenges in the macroeconomic space, hence furthering bargain hunting on attractive equities. With the decision of the Monetary Policy Committee to reduce MPR from 13.0% to 11.0% and further ease CRR from 25.0% to 20.0% at the end of its sitting today, we believe investors may be spurred on by the imminent increase in liquidity in the financial market,” Afrinvest Securities, a Lagos-based securities firm, stated.
Analysts however cautioned that value seeking investors must tread cautiously while taking position in sessions ahead as capital market reactions unfold.
On the upside, Nestle Nigeria, Nigeria’s highest-priced stock, led the gainers with a gain of N1 to close at N808. Nigerian Breweries followed with a gain of 72 kobo to close at N115.72. Unilever Nigeria rose by 64 kobo to N37.02 while Presco added 50 kobo to close at N31 per share.

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