NSE LIVE! High-cap stocks drag equities to N53b loss

For the second consecutive trading session, Nigerian equities ended in the red as profit-taking transactions on highly capitalised stocks counterbalanced equally widespread bargain-hunting for undervalued stocks.

While the advancers were again more than the decliners, as in the previous trading session, losses suffered by a handful of highly capitalised stocks overwhelmed the overall market position. The All Share Index (ASI)-the common value-based index that tracks prices of all quoted equities, declined by 0.59 per cent to close at 25,563.78 points as against its opening index of 25,715.42 points.

Aggregate market capitalization of all quoted equities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) also dropped from its opening value of N8.846 trillion to close at N8.793 trillion, representing a loss of N53 billion. The decline pushed the negative average year-to-date return to -10.75 per cent.

With 25 gainers to 24 losers, the market remained under cautious optimism of bargain-hunting and profit-taking.

“The depreciation recorded in the share prices of Dangote Cement, Nigerian Breweries, Lafarge Africa, United Bank for Africa and Access Bank were mainly responsible for the loss recorded in the index,” FSDH Securities stated.

Nigerian Breweries, Nigeria’s second most capitalised quoted company, led the losers with a loss of N6.68 to close at N115.32. Lafarge Africa followed with a loss of N1.50 to close at N71.50. Dangote Cement, Nigeria’s most capitalised quoted company, dropped by N1 to close at N168. Cadbury Nigeria lost 82 kobo to close at N15.68. Union Dicon Salt declined by 59 kobo to close at N11.21. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria lost 46 kobo to close at N6.99 while Nascon Allied Industries dropped by 40 kobo to close at N8.

Read also: NSE LIVE! Investors lose N51b as equities relapse

Sectoral analysis showed mixed performance. The NSE Consumer Goods Index declined by 2.0 per cent. The Industrial Goods Index depreciated by 1.1 per cent. On the positive side, the NSE Oil & Gas Index appreciated by 1.6 per cent. The NSE Banking Index rose by 0.3 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index inched up by 0.2 per cent.

Nestle Nigeria, NSE’s highest-priced stock, led the gainers with a gain of N10 to close at N690. Forte Oil broke away from its losing streak with a gain of N9.48 to close at N199.48. Total Nigeria rallied 97 kobo to close at N157. Conoil rose by 82 kobo to close at N17.27 while Guinness Nigeria added 54 kobo to close at N94.

Total turnover stood at 178.86 million shares valued at N1.48 billion in 3,786 deals. Banks continued to dominate the activities’ chart. The three most active stocks were FBN Holdings, with 27.83 million shares; United Bank for Africa, 26.50 million shares and Zenith Bank, which recorded a turnover of 15.96 million shares.

“After the bullish start to the week, profit taking by investors has gained momentum and dragged market performance; however, we expect to see some bargain hunting in the session ahead as the week winds out,” Afrinvest Securities stated in post-trading review.

 

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