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Bears retained their hold on the equities sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), as sell pressure extended to the fourth trading session of the week, causing the All-share index to slump further by 0.6 percent.
Yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 178.31 absolute points, representing a decline of 0.64 percent to close at 27,864.49 points. Similarly, market capitalisation lost N87 billion and closed at N13.580 trillion.
The decline was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which were; Seplat, International Breweries, MTN Nigeria, Nigerian Breweries, and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI).
Analysts noted that bearish sentiment on the Nigeria bourse deepened, as performance indicator (NSE-ASI) fell to 27,000 index points, the lowest in the last 26 months.
Specifically, Afrinvest Limited said: “We expect the market to trade bearish in the sessions ahead,” while Cordros Capital Limited predicted that outlook for equities in the short to medium term remains conservative, amidst the absence of any catalyst to drive positive returns.
Market breadth was negative, with 12 gainers against 19 losers. Conoil recorded the highest price gain of 9.76 percent to close at N20.25 per share. Dangote Sugar Refinery followed with 9.22 percent to close at N11.25, and Sovereign Trust Insurance five percent to close at 21 kobos, per share.
Japaul Oil & Maritime Services rose 4.76 percent to close at 22 kobos, while FCMB Groups gained 4.58 percent to close at N1.60, per share.
On the other hand, Berger Paints, and International Breweries led the losers’ chart with 10 percent, each, to close at N6.30, and N17, respectively, and Seplat followed with 9.43 percent to close at N530, per share.
C&I Leasing and NEM Insurance each lost 9.17 percent to close at N4.95, and N2.08, while ETI shed 9.05 percent to close at N9.05, per share.
Total volume traded also fell 28 percent to 175.36 million shares, worth N2.71 billion, traded in 2,653 deals. Transactions in the shares of FBN Holdings topped the activity chart with 33.33 million shares valued at N189.9 million.
Zenith Bank followed with 21.27 million shares worth N395.12 million, while Sterling Bank traded 16.75 million shares valued at N35.56 million. United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 16.28 million shares valued at N90.37 million, while Access Bank sold 9.35 million shares worth N56.81 million.
