Equities market halts bullish run, down N128bn over selloffs in Airtel, Geregu

By Temitope Adebayo

The equities segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) on Thursday halts the positive trajectory, as investors started a new bearish riot with selloffs in large and mid-cap companies’ shares including Airtel Africa and Geregu Power.

At the close of yesterday’s trading activities, profit taking in the local bourse –market performance has been upbeat since Monday amidst third-quarter earnings releases by listed companies.

Consequently, the stock market performance indicators slumped by 0.52 per cent. Specifically, the Nigerian Exchange All Share Index declined by 234.60 basis points to close at 44,625.18.

As expected, the equities market capitalisation inched lower by N127.77 billion, representing a decline of 0.52 per cent to close at N24.31 trillion from N24.43 trillion the previous day.

In its market report, stockbrokers at Atlass Portfolios Limited said market activities were mixed as the total Volume traded for the day increased by 61.45 per cent.

Meanwhile, the total value traded for the day declined by -54.07 per cent. Trading data shows that approximately 150.97 million units valued at N1, 554.10 million were transacted in 2,998 deals.

MBENEFIT was the most traded stock in terms of volume, accounting for 31.69 per cent of the total volume of trades. The assurance company was followed by PHARMDEKO which accounted for 14.99 per cent of total trade.

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In terms of volume, TRANSCORP accounted for 5.95 per cent, FIDELITYBK 5.21 per cent, and ACCESSCORP 4.64 per cent to complete the top 5 on the volume chart. Trading data from the local bourse indicates that AIRTELAFRI was the most traded stock in value terms, with 36.90 per cent of the total value of trades on the exchange.

REGALINS topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 8.70 percent, trailed by SOVRENINS which gained 8.00 per cent and JAPAULGOLD surged by 7.41 per cent. The gainers’ chart indicates that CORNERST popped higher by 4.17 per cent, UACN’s share price jumped by 4.07 per cent, and seven listed stocks reported price appreciations.

On the other hand, nine stocks depreciated, topped by PHARMDEKO with a price depreciation of -9.76 per cent to close at N1.85. The stock was trailed by LINKASSURE which lost 9.30 per cent while WAPIC shed 8.33 per cent.

The market price was down ABCTRANS by 7.41 per cent, AIICO was down by 3.45 per cent, AIRTELAFRI dropped by 2.83 per cent and GEREGU lost 1.72 per cent of its opening valuation. On the day, the market breadth closed positive, recording 12 gainers and 9 losers.

However, the sector performance closed positive, as two out of the five major market sectors were up, led by the Banking sector, which grew by (+1.11%), and then the Consumer goods sector (+0.01%).