NSE ROUND-UP: High-cap stocks drag equities to N26b loss

Nigerian equities lost N26 billion on Monday as profit-taking transactions in a handful of highly capitalised stocks overshadowed otherwise broad positive sentiment across the market. With 27 advancers to 16 decliners, the losses recorded by some highly capitalised stocks coloured the overall market position.

The main indices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed average day-on-day decline by 0.91 per cent, equivalent to a net capital loss of N26 billion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the main value-based index at the stock market, dropped to 36,584.44 points as against its opening index of 36,920.56 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities on the NSE also declined from its opening value of N12.726 trillion to close at N12.700 trillion. This depressed the average year-to-date return to 36.13 per cent.

The negative overall market position was driven mainly by losses recorded by five large-cap stocks including Nestle Nigeria, Dangote Cement, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Zenith Bank and Lafarge Africa. This trend also reflected on the performances of the sectoral indices. The NSE Industrial Goods Index-which is dominated by cement companies, dropped by 2.3 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index slipped by 0.9 per cent while the NSE Oil and Gas Index closed flat. On the other hand, the NSE Banking Index appreciated by 0.8 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index posted a gain of 0.7 per cent.

Nigeria’s highest-priced stock-Nestle Nigeria led the losers with a drop of N9.99 to close at N1,200.01. Nigeria’s most capitalised company-Dangote Cement trailed closely with a loss of N9.38 to close at N215.62. Stanbic IBTC Holdings dropped by 74 kobo to close at N38.11. Zenith Bank declined by 53 kobo to close at N24 while Lafarge Africa lost 50 kobo to close at N58.50.

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On the other hand, Beta Glass led the advancers with a gain of N2.51 to close at N59.84. Flour Mills of Nigeria trailed with a gain of N2.49 to close at N31. Nigerian Breweries trailed with a gain of N2.48 to close at N183.50. Guaranty Trust Bank rose by N1.20 to close at N40.70. UAC of Nigeria and Unilever Nigeria added 50 kobo each to close at N16.50 and N46 respectively. International Breweries rose by 49 kobo to close at N34.50. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated chalked up 40 kobo to close at N18. Dangote Flour Mills rose by 30 kobo to close at N6.30 while Nascon Allied Industries garnered 21 kobo to close at N13.02 per share.

Investors traded a total of 368.38 million shares valued at N6.27 billion in 3,729 deals. AIICO Insurance was the most active stock with 131.01 million shares valued at N74.67 million. Guaranty Trust Bank followed with 61.18 million shares worth N2.48 billion while Zenith Bank ranked third with 22.74 million shares valued at N542.23 million.

Analysts at Afrinvest Securities said while Monday’s negative closing was driven by loss suffered by Dangote Cement, the positive market breadth suggests investors are sourcing for bargain in stocks that had previously declined.
“Hence, we envisage an uptick in market performance in sessions ahead,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

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