NSE LIVE! Profit-taking bites harder as equities lose N187bn

The profit-taking trend that started the Nigerian equities market on Monday worsened on Tuesday as investors increasingly sought to monetise recent capital gains. Benchmark indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed average decline of 1.16 per cent, equivalent to net capital loss of N187 billion.

Most transactions at the Exchange on Tuesday ended on the negative side, depressing the average year-to-date return to 16.07 per cent. There were more than three decliners for every advancer in a five-hour trading session dominated by sell orders from anxious investors seeking to unlock the gains of the past three consecutive bullish weeks.

Most analysts expected the downtrend to continue in the next trading sessions, citing the attraction of profit-taking. A large number of stocks had doubled the average performance over the past three weeks, making profit-taking still attractive despite the downtrend that started on Monday.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the Exchange dropped from its opening value of N16.090 trillion to close at N15.903 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the common value-based index that tracks share prices at the Exchange, also declined to 44,389.85 points as against its opening index of 44,912.53 points.

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Most sectoral indices also closed negative, underlying the widespread price depreciation that marked transactions on Tuesday. The NSE Banking Index led the downtrend with a drop of 2.6 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index dropped by 2.4 per cent while the NSE Industrial Goods Index depreciated by 0.7 per cent. On the upside, the NSE Consumer Goods Index appreciated by 0.7 per cent while the NSE Oil & Gas Index inched up by 0.1 per cent.

11, formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria, led 42 other decliners with a drop of N7 to close at N209. Dangote Cement-Nigeria’s most capitalised stock, followed with a loss of N4 to close at N269. Julius Berger Nigeria dropped by N1.60 to close at N30.40. Guaranty Trust Bank declined by N1.51 to close at N52. Zenith Bank lost 75 kobo to close at N32. FBN Holdings dropped by 73 kobo to close at N13.02 per share. United Bank for Africa lost 64 kobo to close at N12.25. Dangote Flour Mills declined by 40 kobo to close at N15. Fidelity Bank lost 36 kobo to close at N3.57 while Union Bank of Nigeria dropped by 34 kobo to close at N7.66 per share.

The momentum of activities also slowed down with the exchange of 737.86 million shares valued at N7.67 billion in 8,927 deals. Low-priced stocks, otherwise known as penny stocks, continued to dominate top activities chart. Skye Bank was the most active stock with a turnover of 150.37 million shares valued at N226.77 million. FBN Holdings followed with 104.17 million shares valued at N1.36 billion while Wema Bank placed third with 64.09 million shares worth N87.36 million.

“The downward trend may likely continue till midweek,” FSDH Securities stated. Afrinvest Securities also noted that despite losses recorded since the start of the week, it expects sell-offs across sectors “to continue in subsequent trading sessions as investors look to book profits following weeks of sustained gains”.

On the upside, Seplat Petroleum Development Company led 13 other advancers with a gain of N9.99 to close at N685. Unilever Nigeria followed with a gain of N2.21 to close at N46.41. Nigerian Breweries added N2 to close at N145. Presco rose by N1.31 to close at N70 while Nestle Nigeria gathered N1.11 to close at N1, 471.11 per share.

 

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