By Akanimo Sampson
Investors lost N91.4 billion following a 0.4% decline in the All-share index as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX), the equities market opened on a negative note on Monday.
Specifically, benchmark index fell by 44 basis points (bps) to close at 39,306.47 points following sell-offs in MTNN (-1.1%), BUACEMENT (-1.2%) and GUARANTY (-1.7%).
The development hit market performance as year to date loss worsened to -2.4% while market capitalisation fell to ₦20.5 trillion.
Market data showed that trading activity improved as volume and value traded rose 62.9% and 2.5% respectively to 357.7 million units and ₦3.4 billion.
The most traded stocks by volume were ZENITH (52.7 million units), FBNH (42.5 million units) and NEM (39.5 million units).
ZENITH closed transaction valued at ₦1.2 billion, DANGSUGAR did ₦368.8 million, and MTNN sold shares worth ₦313.9 million to lead by value.
Bearish Sector Performance
Afrinvest said in its report that performance was bearish across sectors under its coverage as 5 out of 6 indicators lost.
The Industrial Goods index led the losers, down 0.7% due to profit taking in BUACEMENT (-1.2%) and WAPCO (-2.4%).
Similarly, the Banking and AFR-ICT indices declined 0.6% and 0.5% respectively following sell-offs in STANBIC (-2.2%), GUARANTY (-1.7%) and MTNN (-1.1%).
In the same vein, the Insurance and Consumer Goods indices fell 0.3% and 7bps respectively on the back of price depreciation in MANSARD (-3.3%), DANGSUGAR (-0.8%), and GUINNESS (-1.7%).
On the flip side, the Oil & Gas index rose by 0.2% as a result of buying interest in ETERNA (+9.8%) and OANDO (+0.3%).
Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth, strengthened to 1.6x from the 1.2x recorded in the previous session as 22 stocks advanced while 14 declined.
ETERNA (+9.8%), ROYALEX (+9.2%), and CAPHOTEL (+9.1%) led gainers while ENAMELWA (-9.8%), AFRIPRUD (-6.9%), and NPFMCRFBK (-6.4%) led decliners.
“In the coming trading session, we expect the sell pressure on the domestic stock market to mildly reduce”, Afrinvest stated.
