Nigerian Stocks Give up 0.47% to Profit-taking

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited suffered a 0.47 per cent decline on Tuesday a day after hitting all-time highs in its key performance barometers.

This was influenced by profit-taking in Nigerian stocks, as investors cashed out from the gains recorded in the past trading sessions.

According to data, the All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 899.50 points during the session to 189,362.94 points from the preceding session’s 190,262.44 points, and the market capitalisation decreased by N577 billion to N121.553 trillion from the N122.130 trillion achieved a day earlier.

Business Post reports that the sell-offs were intense yesterday as four of the sectors tracked ended in the red.

The consumer goods space improved by 2.54 per cent, but this was not enough to save Customs Street from crumbling when market activity ended at 2:30 pm.

The banking index was down by 3.69 per cent, the insurance space tumbled by 0.57 per cent, the industrial goods counter depleted by 0.50 per cent, and the energy sector dipped 0.06 per cent.

Despite the loss, the market breadth index remained positive after the bourse closed with 44 price gainers and 40 price losers, implying strong investor sentiment.

The trio of Mecure, SAHCO, and Zenith Bank gave up 10.00 per cent each to trade at N93.60, N117.00, and N80.55 apiece, while RT Briscoe depreciated by 9.95 per cent to N14.12, and Tripple G crashed by 9.77 per cent to N6.00.

Conversely, ABC Transport zoomed off by 9.94 per cent to N9.07, Zichis jumped 9.93 per cent to N13.06, Red Star Express appreciated by 9.87 per cent to N29.50, Meyer grew by 9.81 per cent to N22.95, and Japaul increased by 9.78 per cent to N3.03.

As for the activity chart, investors traded 1.2 billion stocks worth N60.2 billion in 86,607 deals compared with the 1.1 billion stocks valued at N64.0 billion transacted in 64,821 deals on Monday, representing a fall in the trading value by 5.94 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and number of deals by 9.09 per cent and 33.61 per cent apiece.

Access Holdings ended the session as the busiest equity after the sale of 103.5 million units for N2.7 billion, Zenith Bank traded 93.1 million units valued at N8.0 billion, Japaul transacted 73.8 million units for N223.6 million, First Holdco exchanged 54.3 million units worth N2.6 billion, and Secure Electronic Technology sold 45.9 million units valued at N83.3 million.