Equities market capitalisation sheds N62bn in one day
Temitope Adebayo
Due to selling pressures in 22 stocks of quoted companies on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the equities market capitalisation on Tuesday shed N62 billion to close at N13.074 trillion, against N13.136 trillion, recorded on Monday.
At the close of yester trading activities, market indices depreciated further by 0.47 per cent, specifically, the All Share Index (ASI) shed 140.52 points or 0.47 per cent to close at 29,668.68, against 29,809.20 on Monday.
The market performance was influenced by price depreciation in medium and large capitalised stocks, among which are, Seplat Petroleum Development Company (Seplat), Forte Oil, MTN Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC and Nigerian Breweries.
Analysts at APT Securities and Funds Limited said, “We retain our cautious trading advice in the short run.
However, accumulation of fundamentally justified and dividend-paying stocks for the mid to long term is recommended.”
Similarly, analysts at Afrinvest Limited stated, “In the absence of catalysts to propel investor sentiment, we maintain our bearish outlook on the equities market.”
Sovereign Trust Insurance recorded the highest price gain of 9.52 per cent, to close at 23k per share.
Cement Company of Northern Nigeria (CCNN) followed with a gain of 9.47 per cent, to close at N13.30, while Champion Breweries rose by 8.33 per cent to close at N1.69 per share.
Livestock Feeds rose by 5.66 per cent to close at 56k, while Jaiz Bank gained 4.44 per cent to close at 47k per share.
Conversely, Forte Oil led the losers’ chart by 9.38 per cent, to close at N29, per share.
NEM Insurance followed with a decline 8.73 per cent, to close at N2.30, while Prestige Assurance declined by 8.47 per cent to close at 54k per share.
Aiico Insurance dropped by 4.35 per cent to close at 66k, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) lost 3.91 per cent to close at N6.15, per share.
It is worthy of note that the total volume traded went down by 55.83 per cent to 253.39 million units valued at N4.12 billion in 3,836 deals, against a turnover of 573.67 million shares worth N10.21 billion achieved in 4,076 deals on Monday.
