Nigerian Stock Exchange Hits Two Year-Low Amid Market Rout

• Nigerian Stock Exchange Hits Two Year-Low Amid Market Rout

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) hits a two-year low on Wednesday as bearish trend persists.

The NSE All-Share Index declined slightly on Wednesday by 0.82 percent to close at 27,083.11 basis points, the lowest level since May 2017.

While the market capitalisation of listed equities declined by N109 billion to N13.198 trillion, down from N13.307 trillion recorded on Friday before the Eid El-Kabir two-day break.

The year-to-date loss currently stood at 13.8 percent.

Activity level on the trading floor was mixed as volume traded grew 6.5 percent to 235.117 million units, while the total value transacted declined by 26.5 percent to N3.291 billion.

Guaranty Trust Bank topped the most traded stocks by volume with 49.9 million units. Followed by Zenith Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc, 34.7 million units, and 33.2 million units, respectively.

Again, Guaranty Trust Bank led by value, N1.3 billion; Zenith Bank, N563.7 million; and Dangote Cement Plc, N347.8 million.

A sectoral breakdown shows that performance was generally poor as only the insurance sector closed in the green.

The industrial goods topped losers’ chart, dipped by 1.6 percent due to the losses recorded by the Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc and Lafarge Africa Plc.

While the banking sector shed 1.3 percent as a result of losses in Guaranty Trust Bank and FBN Holdings.

The oil and gas sector wasn’t different as 1.1 percent was erased from the index.

Accordingly, AFRI-ICT sector declined by 0.8 percent as MTN Nigeria’s sell pressure weighed on the index.

The consumer goods index also pared 46bps due to price depreciation in Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc and Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc.