The equity market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) declined further as investors lost more than N780 billion from their combined portfolio value on Thursday due to a bearish pose in the local bourse. The market was dragged down by sell pressures in heavy weight stocks BUA Cement and MTN Nigeria eclipsing gains recorded by other lightweight companies.
Due to profit-taking on these bellwether stocks, the domestic bourse closed today’s trading session on a bearish note, as key market performance indicators declined by 0.87%. The NGX year-to-date return moderated to 36.34% as BUA Cement lost 9.96% of its opening market value.
Julius Berger’s (Ticker: JBERGER) market value fell by 9.96%, and AXA Mansard lost 5.18% of its market value. Sterling Financial Holdings dropped by -2.56%, MTN Nigeria shed 2.25% of its opening market value, while Access Holdings headed south, down by 1.64%.
Other decliners include Wema Bank which slipped by -0.84%; United Capital Plc, which declined by -0.78%; OANDO, which slid by 0.61%; and Stanbic IBTC, which sloped down by -0.53% on mild sell-offs.
The equity market value of AIICO Insurance declined by-0.51%, and FCMB pulled back by -0.46%, among others. The Nigerian Exchange All Share Index declined by 1,233.86 basis points to close at 140,332.44.
Trading activities in the stock market dropped on the day as the total volume and total value of all trades consummated on the Exchange decreased by -20.51% and -0.46%, respectively.
Stockbrokers told investors that approximately 573.75 million units valued at ₦12,876.66 million were transacted across 25,881 deals. In terms of volume, FIDELITYBK led the activity chart, accounting for 16.80% of the total volume of all trades transacted in the market.
Other heavy-duty transactions were seen in VERITASKAP (6.40%), UNVINSURE (5.76%), ACCESSCORP (5.31%), and JAIZBANK (3.70%), rounding out the top five. FIDELITYBK emerged as the most traded stock in value terms, accounting for 15.54% of the total value of trades on the exchange.
JAIZBANK topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 9.75 percent, trailed by NSLTECH (+9.38%), OMATEK (+5.88%), CHAMS (+5.00%), CUSTODIAN (+4.86%), MECURE (+3.90%), and ten others.
Forty-five stocks depreciated, according to stockbrokers’ notes. INTENEGINS, THOMASWY, UPL, and VERITASKAP were the top losers, with a price depreciation of -9.98% each, trailed by BUACEMEMT (-9.96%), FTNCOCOA (-9.50%), CHAMPION (-9.32%), MANSARD (-5.18%), and ACCESSCORP (-1.64%).
Hence, the market breadth closed negative, recording 16 gainers and 45 losers. The sectoral performance was negative. Most sectors saw losses: Insurance (-4.69%), Consumer Goods (-0.04%), Oil & Gas (-0.06%), and Industrial (-4.04%).
The banking sector rose by 0.47%, while the commodity sector stayed flat. Overall, the market capitalisation declined by ₦780.64 billion to close at ₦88.78 trillion.
*Source: Market Forces Africa
