Local Stocks Shed N189bn as Selling Pressure Heightens

By Dipo Olowookere

It was still not a good day for local stocks on Thursday as the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated by 0.33 per cent at the close of transactions.

The heightened selling pressure sank the All-Share Index (ASI) by 333.18 points to 99,468.90 points from the 99,802.08 points it closed a day earlier, and the market capitalisation went down by N189 billion to finish at N56.268 trillion versus the preceding session’s N56.457 trillion.

The loss recorded yesterday happened despite an improvement in the financial services industry, as the banking space rose by 0.13 per cent, the insurance counter improved by 0.09 per cent, and the industrial goods index jumped by 0.05 per cent.

The profit-taking witnessed during the session was from the energy sector, which declined by 4.00 per cent, and the consumer goods industry, which waned by 0.16 per cent.

A total of 18 equities depreciated on Thursday, while 21 equities appreciated, representing a positive market breadth index and a strong investor sentiment.

Ikeja Hotel fell by 9.29 per cent to trade at N6.35, Honeywell Flour declined by 8.41 per cent to N3.16, Seplat retreated by 8.30 per cent to N3,480.00, Champion Breweries plunged by 7.55 per cent to N3.06, and Sunu Assurance shrank by 4.62 per cent to N1.24.

On the flip side, Linkage Assurance appreciated by 9.80 per cent to N1.12, DAAR Communications rose by 9.62 per cent to 57 Kobo, Vitafoam grew by 7.61 per cent to N21.20, Livestock Feeds expanded by 7.32 per cent to N2.20, and Mecure Industries gained 4.49 per cent to settle at N10.00.

At the trading session, investors bought and sold 296.7 million stocks worth N5.5 billion in 7,126 deals compared with the 935.2 million stocks worth N11.8 billion in 8,160 deals transacted on Wednesday, implying a decrease in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 68.27 per cent, 53.39 per cent, and 12.67 per cent, respectively.

At the close of business, Fidelity Bank was the most active equity after it exchanged 46.8 million units valued at N482.5 million, Linkage Assurance traded 32.1 million units valued at N36.0 million, Access Holdings sold 23.2 million units for N445.7 million, Transcorp transacted 22.1 million units worth N266.1 million, and AIICO Insurance traded 15.6 million units valued at N17.3 million.