- Equities’ Return Declines to -15.14%
Nigerian equities continued on the decline yesterday at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) with a near tit-for-tat trading session shaving off N94 billion from the market value of quoted equities.
With average decline of 0.79 per cent yesterday, the average year-to-date return for Nigerian equities worsened to -15.14 per cent.
The All Share Index (ASI)-the main index that tracks share prices at the Exchange, declined from its opening index of 32,711.65 points to close at 32,454.03 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted equities dropped from its opening value of N11.942 trillion to close at N11.848 trillion.
With 14 losers to 15 gainers, the negative overall market situation was due largely to losses recorded by large-cap stocks.
Most sectoral indices also closed negative. The NSE Industrial Goods Index declined by 1.3 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index dropped by 0.6 per cent while the NSE Insurance Index dipped by 0.5 per cent. On the upside, the NSE Banking Index rallied 0.4 per cent gain while the NSE Oil & Gas Index closed flat.
Dangote Cement-NSE’s most capitalised stock, led the losers with a drop of N4.90 to close at N200.10. Nigerian Breweries dropped by N2.50 to close at N89 while Unilever Nigeria declined by N1 to close at N45.
On the upside, Nestle Nigeria led the gainers with a gain of N1 to close at N1,400. Dangote Sugar Refinery added 60 kobo to close at N14..50 while Zenith Bank rose by 30 kobo to close at N21.80 per share.
Total turnover stood at 136.73 million shares valued at N1.43 billion in 2,801 deals. FCMB led the activities chart with 38.38 million shares valued at N65.72 million. United Bank for Africa followed with 20.81 million shares worth N172.54 million while Fidelity Bank recorded 19.18 million shares worth N35.34 million.
“We expect a rebound by the end of the week as we anticipate bargain hunting in bellwethers that have declined in the last two trading sessions,” Afrinvest Securities stated.
Analysts at Cordros Capital stated that they remained conservative, amidst brewing political concerns, and the absence of a one-off positive trigger.
“However, stable macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of recovery in the long term,” Cordros Capital stated.
