NSE LIVE! Equities stumble further with N48bn loss

The latest streak of downtrend at the Nigerian stock market extended to the third consecutive trading session on Tuesday, raising the negative average year-to-date return to -5.31 per cent.

With 22 decliners to 14 advancers, key indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed widespread negative sentiments. The All Share Index (ASI), the value-based common index that tracks prices at the Exchange, declined from 25,587.09 points to close at 25,446.66 points, representing a day-on-day decline of 0.55 per cent.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities also declined from its opening value of N8.818 trillion to close at N8.770 trillion, indicating a loss of N48 billion. Most sectoral indices also closed in the red, underlining the spread of the sell pressure that had dominated the market since last week.

The NSE Consumer Goods Index recorded above average decline of 2.5 per cent. The NSE Oil & Gas Index dropped by 0.6 per cent while the NSE Banking Index depreciated by 0.3 per cent. However, the NSE Insurance Index appreciated by 0.8 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index inched up by 0.4 per cent.

Nestle Nigeria, Nigeria’s highest-priced stock, led the decliners with a loss of N34 to close at N646. Forte Oil followed with a loss of N3.93 to close at N56.82. Nigerian Breweries dropped by N2.60 to close at N130.90. Guinness Nigeria lost N1.24 to close at N64.98. International Breweries declined by 84 kobo to close at N16.15. PZ Cussons Nigeria dropped by 64 kobo to close at N12.23.

Read also: NSE LIVE! Equities reel under losses as sell-off worsens

UAC of Nigeria lost 50 kobo to close at N14.50 per share. Nascon Allied Industries dropped by 39 kobo to close at N7.51. Zenith Bank declined by 33 kobo to close at N15 while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated lost 30 kobo to close at N10 per share.

On the upside, Total Nigeria led the advancers with a gain of N8 to close at N270. Presco followed with a gain of N2.18 to close at N46.30. Beta Glass rose by N1.50 to close at N31.50. Dangote Cement added 99 kobo to close at N166. Guaranty Trust Bank chalked up 42 kobo to close at N23.50. Stanbic IBTC Holdings rose by 19 kobo to close at N18 per share while Tourist Company of Nigeria added 15 kobo to close at N3.65 per share.

Investors exchanged a total of 207.17 million shares worth N1.58 billion in 2,791. Banking stocks dominated the top activities chart. Diamond Bank was the most active with 31.5 million shares worth N27.05 million. Fidelity Bank followed with 25.1 million shares valued at N21.8 million while United Bank for Africa recorded a turnover of 22.2 million shares worth N108.14 million.

Analysts at Afrinvest Securities, a Lagos-based dealer at the NSE, attributed the decline to the tough operating environment citing the “weakening macroeconomic indicators as well as unimpressive earnings releases” as constituting the drags at the market.

“We maintain our expectation of bargain hunters coming in to the market in the trading sessions ahead on account of cheap valuation of stocks,” Afrinvest Securities stated in a post-trading note to investors.

 

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