Equities Further Shed 0.50% Despite 12% Rise in Turnover

By Dipo Olowookere

For the sixth consecutive sessions, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) closed in the negative region as bears tighten their grip on the market.

The local bourse closed 0.50 percent lower on Thursday despite an improvement in the volume and value of shares traded by investors.

The volume of equities transacted yesterday had increased by 11.79 percent to 250.3 million from 223.7 million, while the value had risen by 12.37 percent to N2.4 billion from N2.2 billion.

However, losses recorded by 15 counters outweighed the gains posted by 24 stocks at the market on Thursday.

Seplat led the losers’ chart with N31.60k of its share valued lost to settle at N550      per unit, while Dangote Cement fell by N1.30k to close at N188.10k per share.

GTBank depreciated by 65 kobo to finish at N36.15k per share, Stanbic IBTC declined by 50 kobo to end at N45 per unit, while Zenith Bank dropped 20 kobo to close at N22 per share.

On the other hand, CCNN led the gainers’ table with a price appreciation of N1 to settle for the day at N20 per unit.

PZ Cussons appreciated by 75 kobo to end at N11.25k per share, while Eterna and Access Bank gained 40 kobo each to close at N4.80k and N6.90k respectively, with Custodian Investment improving its share value by 30 kobo to end at N6.30k per unit.

The loss posted by the market yesterday reduced the All-Share Index (ASI) by 155.53 points to 30,885.31 points from 31,040.84 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N58 billion to settle at N11.518 trillion from N11.576 trillion.

There was a renewed interest in the shares of Access Bank on Thursday, closing with a turnover of 93.5 million units traded for N638.5 million.

Zenith Bank trailed with 30.8 million shares sold for N678.7 million, while UBA exchanged 24.6 million equities worth N192.8 million.

FBN Holdings transacted 19.8 million shares valued at N162.7 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 12.2 million equities for N28.9 million.