Five Stocks Wipe Off N656bn from NGX in One Day

By Dipo Olowookere

Investor sentiment on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited was strong on Monday, but losses posted by Airtel Africa and four others plunged the bourse into a 2.53 per cent loss at the close of trades.

Airtel Africa lost 10.00 per cent yesterday to settle at N1,620.00, Sovereign Trust Insurance fell by 7.14 per cent to trade at 26 Kobo, AIICO Insurance depreciated by 7.02 per cent to 53 Kobo, Dangote Sugar went down by 2.80 per cent to N15.60, and Fidson decreased by 2.51 per cent to N8.94.

The poor performances of these equities outweighed the positive energy exuded by PZ Cussons and 13 others.

PZ Cussons gained 9.52 per cent to close at N9.20, University Press appreciated by 9.33 per cent to N1.64, Courteville rose by 4.35 per cent to 48 Kobo, Cutix improved by 3.50 per cent to N2.07, and Coronation Insurance went up by 2.86 per cent to 36 Kobo.

Analysis of the data from the exchange showed that the banking space increased by 0.87 per cent, while the insurance and consumer goods sectors depreciated by 1.18 per cent and 0.06 per cent, respectively, with the energy and the industrial goods counters closing flat.

The All-Share Index (ASI), on its part, depleted yesterday by 1,203.09 points to settle at 46,365.95 points in contrast to the preceding session’s 47,569.04 points as the market capitalisation reduced by N656 billion to N25.254 trillion from N25.910 trillion.

Transactions on Customs Street improved on Monday, with investors trading 138.0 million shares worth N4.3 billion in 3,234 deals compared with the 124.4 million shares worth N4.3 billion traded last Friday in 3,101 deals.

This indicated that the volume of trades increased by 10.89 per cent, the number of deals appreciated by 4.29 per cent, and the value of transactions closed flat.

GTCO was the busiest stock during the session as it transacted 29.9 million units, followed by Courteville with 26.1 million units, Fidelity Bank with 20.0 million units, Sterling Bank with 8.9 million units, and UBA with 6.5 million units.