Equities market ASI drops 0.24% as N856bn wiped off market value
BY TEMITOPE ADEBAYO
The Nigerian stock market yesterday broke its 13-day winning streak as selloffs in Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc and 60 other stocks wiped off N856 billion from the overall capitalisation.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 249.42 points, representing a loss of 0.24 per cent to close at 103,398.82 points. Market capitalisation also depreciated by N152 billion to settle at N63.051 trillion.
The negative performance was driven by losses in medium and large-cap stocks, including Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (NNFM), Vitafoam Nigeria, Africa Prudential, Zenith Bank, and SUNU Assurance.
Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, remained weak, with 19 stocks advancing while 51 declined. Abbey Mortgage Bank and PZ Cussons Nigeria led the gainers, rising 10 per cent each to close at N3.63 and N27.50 per share, respectively. Learn Africa followed with a 9.90 per cent gain to close at N5.44 per share.
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Other notable gainers included NCR Nigeria, up 9.77 per cent to close at N7.30, and Nigerian Exchange Group, which appreciated by 9.72 per cent to close at N29.90 per share.
Conversely, FTN Cocoa Processors, RT Briscoe Nigeria, and Veritas Kapital Assurance led the losers’ chart with declines of 10 per cent each to close at N1.80, N2.70, and N1.53 per share, respectively. SUNU Assurance and Cornerstone Insurance followed with 9.98 per cent losses each, closing at N10.01 and N4.15 per share, while Honeywell Flour Mills shed 9.92 per cent to close at N7.54 per share.
Trading activity was robust, with the total volume of shares traded rising by 30.0 per cent to 1.112 billion units, valued at N14.638 billion, across 16,617 deals. FBNH Holdings led the activity chart with 161.460 million shares worth N4.715 billion, followed by AIICO Insurance, which traded 120.703 million shares valued at N225.444 million.
Other actively traded stocks included Tantalizers with 104.762 million shares worth N267.395 million, Universal Insurance with 93.811 million shares valued at N78.058 million, and Regency Alliance Insurance, which exchanged 47.325 million shares worth N44.546 million.
