Kehinde Akinseinde-Jayeoba
Equities trading at the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Thursday were bearish as the All Share Index (ASI) declined by 0.12 per cent to close at 54,359,90 basis points amid renewed profit-taking activity.
Specifically, market sentiment shifted negative as investors liquidated a portion of their positions in tickers such as Fidelity Bank, Nigerian Breweries, Geregu and Total Energies. Their respective share prices fell by 3.39 per cent, 2.63 per cent, 2.44 per cent, and 2.32 per cent, respectively.
Sequentially, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date return moderated to +2.1 per cent and +6.1 per cent, respectively.
Equities investors, therefore, lost N36.57 billion from their investment as the market capitalization settled at N29.61 trillion at the end of the day’s trading activities as against an opening of N26.65 trillion.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative as 17 tickers lost relative to 16 gainers. On the performance board, GlaxoSmithKline and Cornerstone Insurance recorded the highest losses of the day having depreciated in share value by 7.9 per cent and 4.8 per cent, respectively, while Northern Nigeria Flour Mills and Redstar Express topped the gainers’ list after their respective share prices appreciated by 9.7 per cent and 9.5 per cent.
Sectorial performance was negative, as four of the five indices closed in the red; the NGX Banking, NGX Insurance, NGX Consumer Goods, and NGX Oil/Gas indices fell by 0.38 per cent, 1.45 per cent, 0.30 per cent, and 0.61 per cent, respectively. The NGX Industrial Index stayed flat. In the broader market, the NGX Premium and the NGX-30 index decreased by two basis points and five basis points, respectively.
Meanwhile, trading activity increased, with total deals, volume, and value rising by 10.52 per cent, 46.84 per cent, and 67.69 per cent, respectively, to 3,287 trades, 222.58 million units, and N3.04 billion.
In terms of volume, Universal Insurance was the most active stock, with 71.81 million shares worth N14.36 million changing hands in 76 deals.
