NGX Index Slips Below 97,000 Points, Market Cap Below N59trn

By Dipo Olowookere

The bearish trend seen at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited continued on Monday after a further 0.54 per cent loss at the close of transactions.

It was the sixth consecutive trading day the bourse was closing in the red territory amid sustained profit-taking, which sank the All-Share Index (ASI) below the 97,000-point mark.

Yesterday, the index depreciated by 524.04 points to 96,907.98 points from the 97,432.02 points it ended last Friday and the market capitalisation declined by N318 billion to settle at N58.721 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N59.039 trillion.

Investor sentiment was weak yesterday after the bourse ended with 30 price losers and 17 price gainers, implying a negative market breadth index.

Caverton lost 10.00 per cent to trade at N1.80, Aradel Holdings shed 9.99 per cent to close at N401.10, Oando slumped by 9.98 per cent to N80.70, FTN Cocoa crashed by 9.90 per cent to N1.73, and Veritas Kapital dropped 9.86 per cent to quote at N1.28.

On the flip side, John Holt and UBA appreciated by 10.00 per cent each to trade at N3.63 and N31.90 apiece, Eunisell grew by 9.96 per cent to N6.18, Sterling Holdings rose by 5.96 per cent to N4.98, and PZ Cussons gained 4.55 per cent to finish at N23.00.

The sectorial performance showed that the banking and consumer goods sectors appreciated by 1.13 per cent and 0.21 per cent, respectively.

However, the insurance and the energy counters depreciated by 0.75 per cent and 0.16 per cent, respectively, while the industrial goods index closed flat.

Business Post reports that the trading value went down by 10.13 per cent, while the trading volume and the number of deals increased by 37.68 per cent and 17.98 per cent apiece.

A total of 1.2 billion stocks worth N14.2 billion exchanged hands in 10,386 deals on the first trading day of the week versus the 888.8 million stocks valued at N15.8 billion transacted on the last trading session of last week in 8,803 deals.

Consolidated Hallmark sold 567.3 million shares for N822.5 million, UBA traded 240.8 million equities traded N7.3 billion, Sterling Holdings exchanged 122.3 million stocks valued at N603.0 million, Sovereign Trust Insurance transacted 59.4 million equities worth N33.9 million, and Access Holdings traded 26.1 million shares valued at N579.5 million.