NGX Down 0.53% as Traders Sell off Seplat, PZ Cussons, Others

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited depreciated by 0.53 per cent on Monday on the back of renewed profit-taking triggered by selling pressure in key sectors of the market.

Investor sentiment turned weak during the first trading day of the week after 19 equities finished on the gainers’ chart and 24 equities ended on the losers’ log.

Seplat posted the heaviest loss, 10.00 per cent, to trade at N2,962.30, and was trailed by PZ Cussons, which lost 9.91 per cent to quote at N25.00. eTranzact shed 9.68 per cent to sell for N5.60, Unity Bank plunged by 8.20 per cent to N1.68, and NASCON dropped 7.50 per cent to settle at N37.00.

On the flip side, The Initiates gained 8.70 per cent to close at N2.50, Tantalizers expanded by 8.70 per cent to 50 Kobo, Sterling Holdings rose by 5.38 per cent to N4.70, Ikeja Hotel grew by 5.37 per cent to N7.45, and University Press jumped by 4.65 per cent to N2.25.

The loss reported yesterday brought the All-Share Index (ASI) below the 98,000 level, as it shed 524.38 points to close at 97,709.38 points compared with last Friday’s 98,233.76 points.

In the same vein, the market capitalisation decreased during the trading day by N297 billion to settle at N55.265 trillion, in contrast to the preceding session’s N55.562 trillion.

Business Post reports that investors bought and sold 439.1 million stocks valued at N11.4 billion in 8,607 deals on Monday versus the 344.4 million stocks worth N7.5 billion transacted in the previous trading session in 8,497 deals, implying a surge in the trading volume, value, and the number of deals by 27.50 per cent, 52.00 per cent, and 1.29 per cent, respectively.

The busiest equity yesterday was Notore Industries, which transacted 74.4 million units valued at N4.7 billion, followed by Access Holdings, which traded 43.1 million units worth N749.9 million. Universal Insurance exchanged 38.3 million units worth N14.0 million, UBA traded 37.3 million units valued at N903.1 million, and Regency Alliance sold 32.0 million units for N10.3 million.