By Dipo Olowookere
The gains posted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Wednesday were quickly wiped out on Thursday following the decision of investors to take profit.
The growth printed by the market at the midweek session was unexpected and the next day, investors took action by selling off in order to re-enter or watch situations from the sidelines.
The global market has been plagued with coronavirus, with Nigeria not an exception. Yesterday the number of confirmed cases rose to 12 from eight after four new cases were discovered in Lagos, a day after five fresh ones were announced.
This situation forced federal government to announce the shutting down of schools (primary, secondary and tertiary) nationwide and state governments taking a similar action by banning large gatherings, including religious houses, bars and others.
At the close of market yesterday, stocks were down by 3.12 percent, stretching the year-to-date loss to 17.75 percent as a result of selloffs witnessed especially in the banking sector, which has posted gains in the past sessions.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 711.06 points to 22,078.58 points from 22,789.64 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N371 billion to N11.506 trillion from N11.876 trillion.
During the trading session, the number of stocks transacted by investors reduced by 21.69 percent to 525.8 million units from 671.5 million units, while the value of shares traded dropped by 55.16 percent to N4.7 billion from N10.6 billion, with the number of deals falling by 24.80 percent to 5,450 from 7,247.
Zenith Bank remained the most active stock yesterday, trading 118.5 million units worth N1.5 billion, while WAPIC Insurance exchanged 102.4 million units valued at N22.5 million.
GTBank traded 100.7 million shares for N1.8 billion, FBN Holdings sold 35.2 million stocks worth N140.8 million, while UBA transacted 30.8 million units for N155.5 million.
Business Post reports that the Customs Street closed Thursday’s trading session with 22 price losers and 13 price gainers.
Nestle Nigeria was the heaviest price loser, shedding N30 to settle at N850 per share, while MTN Nigeria lost N5 to stay at N99.50 per share.
Dangote Cement fell by N4.40 to sell at N129 per share, Zenith Bank depreciated by N1.35 to trade at N12.15 per unit, while Lafarge Africa declined by 70 kobo to quote at N10.10 per unit.
Conversely, Africa Prudential stayed on top of the advancers’ chart yesterday after adding 32 kobo to its share price to trade at N3.55 per share.
International Breweries appreciated by 25 kobo to sell at N5.50 per unit, Dangote Sugar gained 15 kobo to settle at N10 per share, Sterling Bank grew by 9 kobo to finish at N1.08 per share, while Livestock Feeds garnered 5 kobo to sell at 60 kobo per unit.
A look at the performances of the five key sectors of the market showed that the banking counter lost 7.75 percent on Thursday, followed by the industrial goods sector, which fell by 1.45 percent, and the consumer goods sector, which declined by 0.96 percent.
Only the insurance index gained yesterday, growing by 1.08 percent, while the energy counter closed flat.
