Caverton, Wema Bank, NEM Lead N21bn Market Loss

• Caverton, Wema Bank, NEM Lead N21bn Market Loss

The equities market, on Tuesday, recorded a loss of N21bn led by Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc, Wema Bank Plc, NEM Insurance Company Nigeria Plc, ETranzact International Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc.

Market breadth remained negative with 10 advances and 19 declines.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange market capitalisation closed at N9.712tn from N9.733tn on Monday, while the NSE All-Share Index dropped to 28,277.93 basis points from 28,335.40 recorded on Friday last week.

The highest index point attained in the course of trading was 28,335.40 basis points, while the lowest and average index points stood at 28,236.23 and 28,269.20 basis points, respectively.

Coming from a one-session break amid national holiday, the Nigerian stock market kicked off the fourth quarter of 2016 on a slightly negative note, down 18 basis points following mixed closes across weighty sectors.

Having led market advances in the previous session, the consumer goods sector swung to the negative due to 3.74 per cent and 2.77 per cent losses in the share prices of Flour Mills Nigeria Plc and Nigerian Breweries Plc, respectively.

The financial services sector reversed the previous position to gain 1.4 per cent due largely to a 4.12 per cent gain in the share price of Guaranty trust Bank Plc and 2.37 per cent gain in the shares price of Zenith Bank Plc.

The oil and gas sector stretched gains by 0.13 per cent as 1.3 per cent advances in Oando Plc outweighed 8.31 per cent losses in Conoil Plc. The industrials goods sector closed flat.

On what will shape the next trading session, analysts at Vetiva Capital Management Limited said, “We observe a handful of mid-to-large caps split across the bid and offer carts at the close of the session. This could yield further mixed performances across key sectors in the session ahead.”

On the global front, European markets advanced amidst turnaround in Germany’s Deutsche Bank (slumped to record low last Friday) and a rally across British exporters after updates on United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union pulled the Pound to a three-decade low.