Equities market relapses by 0.72 percent; as Seplat lead declining stocks.

 Equities trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) relapsed by 0.72 percent on Thursday as lead market indicator- the All Share Index dropped by 225.12 points to close at 29,597.79 points. This is in comparison with a gain of 0.80 percent recorded on Wednesday when All Share Index settled at 29,812.91 basis points.

Market capitalisation dropped by 0.72 percent or N74 billion to close at N10.165 trillion compared to previous appreciation of N81.6 billion to close at N10.239 trillion, bringing the NSE’s Year-to-Date (YTD) returns to +3.34 percent.

Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc topped the day’s losers with a decline of N10 in its share value to close at N330 per share. Forte Oil Plc shaved N3.69 to close at N190.34 per share, Nigerian Breweries Plc closed at N138 as it lost N2.01, while Dangote Cement Plc also depreciated by N2 to close at N192 per share and Eco Transnational Incorporated Plc dropped 51 kobo to close at N16 per share.

Conversely, Guinness Nigeria Plc led the gainers chart with an advancement of N2.85 to close at N109.25 per share. Conoil Plc followed with a gain of N1.1 to close at N23.1 per share, Union Dicon Salt Plc added 78 kobo to close at N16.53 per share, while Berger Paints Plc and Oando Plc appreciated by 38 kobo and 3 kobo each to close at N8.05 and N6.5 per share respectively.

Total volume of shares traded stood at 342.6 million and were exchanged for N4.7 billion in 4,079 deals, compared to 305.8 million shares worth N2.9 billion exchanged in 4,640 deals on Wednesday.

Guaranty Trust Bank was most active in boosting turnover, as it sold 66.3 million shares, worth N1.5 billion, followed by Eco Transnational Incorporated Plc that traded 41.7 million shares, worth N666.6 million while AIICO Insurance Plc exchanged 36.2 million shares valued at N25.1 million.