Nigerian Stock Exchange Sheds N85bn on Tuesday

• Nigerian Stock Exchange Sheds N85bn on Tuesday

The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) extended its bearish decline on Tuesday below N12 trillion as global uncertainty weighs on the bourse.

However, more stocks closed in the green compared to three recorded on Monday as a total of 27 stocks closed in the green on Tuesday against twelve that closed in the red.

The market capitalisation of listed equities declined by N85 billion from N11.832 trillion it closed on Monday to N11.747 trillion on Tuesday.

The NSE All-Share Index declined by 0.71 percent or 162.12 basis points from 22,705.19 bpds recorded on Monday to 22.543.07 bps on Tuesday.

Investors traded total shares of 675.9 million in 7,368 transactions during the trading hours. The premium subsector emerged the most active sector by volume with a total of 427.4 million shares traded in 3,709 deals while the volume in subsector was driven by the surge in activities in FBNH Plc and Zenith Bank Plc.

However, the banking subsector was driven by the increase in the activities in the shares of Fidelity Bank Plc and GTBank Plc as the sector recorded a total turnover of 143 million in 1,663 deals.

The continuous fall in global oil prices and fast-spreading coronavirus weighs on the bourse as investors remains on the sideline. The petrol-dollar economy has been battered by the declining dollar revenue, the rising inflation rate that rose to 12.2 percent in February and falling demand for crude oil in the international market.

While the Central Bank of Nigeria announced few measures to bolster economic and stimulate growth, the surge in risk especially as experts now believe the apex bank would have to devalue at certain point continues to hurt market participation and broader economic activity.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange has lost more than N2 trillion in value in the last eight trading sessions.