Stock Market: Loss in MTN, Airtel stocks sustains bearish run

Investors in the Stock Market on Thursday lost N170.9 billion as market capitalisation fell in value to N13.9 trillion.

Sell pressures in bellwether stocks AIRTELAFRI (-10.0%), MTNN (-2.3%) and NESTLE (-4.8%) dragged the benchmark index 186bps lower to settle at 28,712.90 points while the YTD return worsened to -8.6%.

Activity level declined as volume and value traded dipped 0.2% and 14.6% to 188.4 million units and N3.2 billion respectively.

The top traded stocks by volume were FBNH (50.1m units), ZENITH (21.1m units) and ACCESS (18.9m units) while MTNN (N724.9m), ZENITH (N404.3m) and GUARANTY (N380.7m) led the top trades by value.

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The Insurance index shed the most, down 2.7%, due to sell pressures in MANSARD (-10.0%), CHIPLC (-9.1%) and AIICO(-1.5%).

The Consumer Goods index trailed, declining 2.1%, following losses in NESTLE (-4.8%) and HONEYFLOUR (-2.9%).

Similarly, sell-offs in CCNN (-9.8%) and DANGCEM(-0.3%) dragged the Industrial Goods index by 1.7% while price depreciation in AIRTELAFRI(-10.0%) and MTNN (-2.3%) weighed on the AFRI-ICT index.

Conversely, price appreciation in GUARANTY (+3.3%), ETI (+0.5%) and FIDELITY (+0.6%) as well as CONOIL(+0.3%) buoyed a 64bps and 1bp increase in the Banking and Oil & Gas indices respectively.

The top outperforming stocks were SOVERNINS (+4.8%), COURTVILLE (+4.5%) and GUARANTY (+3.3%), while MANSARD (-10.0%), AIRTELAFRI (-10.0%) and CCNN (-9.8%) led the decliners.

Analysts at Afrinvest Securities Limited expect the downward trend to continue in the near term as this would present opportunities to position in premium stocks.

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