…As ASI declines by 0.24%
Temitope Adebayo
Investors in the equities market of the Nigeria Stock Exchange (NSE) continued its bearish run for the fourth consecutive trading session to lose N26.4 billion which was impacted by price depreciation recorded in medium and large capitalized stocks.
The All Share Index (ASI) dropped 70.16 basis points, representing a decrease of 0.24 per cent to close at 28,896.25 basis points from 28,966.41 basis points it opened trading.
Similarly, Market Capitalization increased by N26.4 billion representing a decline of 0.25 per cent to close at N10.860 trillion from N10.887 trillion it opened trading.
The Market Breadth closed negative, recording 8 gainers and 19 losers while Year-Till-Date (YTD) return dipped to -8.1 per cent.
Similarly, activity level declined as volume and value traded decreased significantly by 33.8 per cent and 36.7 per cent to 214.8 million units and N2.1 billion respectively.
Access Bank (40.7 million units), Zenith Bank (28.6 million units) and Sterling Bank (23.8 million units) were the top traded stock by volume while the top trades by value were Zenith Bank (N576.5 million), Guaranty Trust Bank (N414.7 million) and Access Bank (N283.5 million).
The Insurance index was the sole gainer advancing 1.1 per cent, following price appreciation in AXA Mansard Insurance (5.4 per cent) and Regency Alliance Insurance (4.0 per cent).
On the flip side, the Banking index led laggards, down 0.6 per cent based on sell-offs in Zenith Bank (2.2 per cent) and FBN Holdings (2.7 per cent) while the Consumer Goods index dipped 3 basis points as Nigerian Breweries (-0.3 per cent) and Honeywell Flour Mill (1.7 per cent) posted losses.
In the same vein, the Industrial Goods index declined as First Aluminium Nigeria (2.3 per cent) closed in the red. The Oil and Gas Index, however, closed flat in yesterday’s trading session.
Leading the gainers’ chart was Veritas Kapital Assurance Plc (10 per cent), AXA Mansard Insurance Plc (5.4 per cent) and First City Monument Bank Plc (five per cent) were the top performers while Japaul Oil & Maritime Services Plc (10 per cent),
Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc (10 per cent) and (9.8 per cent) were the worst performers.
Analysts at APT Securities and Fund Limited said that “Given the trend and the current posit of the equities market, we advise investors to accumulate in tranches fundamentally justifiable symbols with good dividend history.”
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said that, “In our view, we expect the current bearish performance to extend into the last trading day of the week as reflected by the weak investor sentiment.”
