NGX Down by 0.25% as Investors Sell Off Oil Stocks

By Dipo Olowookere

The decision of investors to sell off stocks in the oil and gas sector brought down the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 0.25 per cent on Friday.

This left the energy index down by 4.62 per cent at the close of transactions because of the losses printed by Oando and Seplat Energy.

Also, profit-taking in the insurance sector weakened its index by 0.57 per cent during the session, overturning the 0.20 per cent rise posted by the consumer goods counter and the 0.17 per cent growth achieved by the banking sector.

The industrial goods space closed flat and had no effect on the general outcome of the local stock exchange on the last trading session of the week.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 141.03 points to 55,529.21 points from 55,670.24 points, while the market capitalisation depleted by N77 billion to N30.250 trillion from N30.327 trillion.

Business Post observed that traders still had an eye on the political landscape of Nigeria, resulting in the selling pressure witnessed at the market yesterday.

A total of 750.8 million equities worth N2.7 billion were traded in 3,962 deals during the session versus the 206.1 million equities worth N3.3 billion traded in 4,385 deals on Thursday, indicating an increase in the trading volume by 264.29 per cent, a decrease in the trading value by 18.18 per cent, and a decline in the number of deals by 9.65 per cent.

Chams traded 571.1 million shares on Friday to finish as the most active stock at the domestic bourse and was trailed by Sterling Bank, which traded 45.6 million stocks. Zenith Bank transacted 17.4 million equities, Transcorp traded 11.0 million shares, and AIICO Insurance sold 9.4 million equities.

Unlike the preceding day, the market breadth was positive as there were 17 price gainers and 16 price losers, implying a strong investor sentiment.

Seplat lost 9.43 per cent to trade at N1,200.00, Oando depleted by 8.62 per cent to N4.56, Coronation Insurance faltered by 6.82 per cent to close at 41 Kobo, Unity Bank weakened by 5.26 per cent to 54 Kobo, and FCMB retreated by 4.02 per cent to N4.30.

On the other side of the coin, Academy Press improved by 9.48 per cent to N1.27, Neimeth went up by 8.97 per cent to N1.58, Honeywell Flour appreciated by 7.83 per cent to N2.34, Flour Mills grew by 4.69 per cent to N33.50, and Sovereign Trust Insurance gained 3.70 per cent to quote at 28 Kobo.