Customs Street Crashes 0.16% as Sell-offs Persist

By Dipo Olowookere

Weak investor sentiment further sank Customs Street by 0.16 per cent on Tuesday in the absence of a positive trigger.

Analysis of data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited indicated that the profit-taking was across the major sectors, as the banking space lost 1.18 per cent, the consumer goods index shed 0.75 per cent, the insurance sector declined by 0.63 per cent, and the energy segment depreciated by 0.05 per cent, while the industrial goods counter closed flat.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 394.36 points to 250,273.50 points from 250,667.86 points, and the market capitalisation tumbled by N256 billion to N162.496 trillion from N162.752 trillion.

The worst-performing stock for the day was CMFC, which lost 9.88 per cent to settle at N3.65. ABC Transport depreciated by 9.70 per cent to N6.05, CWG crumbled by 7.23 per cent to N19.25, Zichis slipped by 6.58 per cent to N17.05, and Neimeth dropped 6.17 per cent to trade at N7.60.

The best-performing stock was Tripple Gee, which chalked up 9.77 per cent to close at N2.81. Livestock Feeds improved by 9.74 per cent to N10.70, NPF Microfinance Bank advanced by 9.52 per cent to N4.60, Sovereign Trust Insurance expanded by 8.23 per cent to N2.50, and Coronation Insurance gained 7.69 per cent to finish at N2.38.

The market breadth index was negative yesterday after the bourse ended with 26 appreciating equities and 34 depreciating equities.

As for the activity chart, it was down after market participants traded 579.3 million shares valued at N36.1 billion in 41,072 deals compared with the 875.3 million shares worth N40.9 billion transacted in 53,887 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 33.82 per cent, 11.74 per cent, and 23.78 per cent, respectively.

Access Holdings maintained its position as the most active stock during the session, closing with a turnover of 192.6 million units worth N5.9 billion. UBA sold 32.8 million units valued at N1.5 billion, Zenith Bank transacted 30.8 million units for N4.2 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 29.9 million units worth N691.7 million, and GTCO exchanged 19.6 million units valued at N2.6 billion.