Nigerian Market Edges Lower by 0.04%

By Dipo Olowookere

The domestic market depreciated by 0.04 per cent on Wednesday after it moved upwards a day earlier on the back of renewed selling pressure.

The All-Share Index (ASI) of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited decreased by 18.29 points to 49,691.17 points from 49709.46 points, while the market capitalisation depreciated by N10 billion to settle at N26.802 trillion in contrast to the previous day’s N26.812 trillion.

Courteville recorded a loss of 9.80 per cent to sell at 46 Kobo, SCOA Nigeria declined by 9.79 per cent to N1.75, Skyway Aviation fell by 9.73 per cent to N5.10, Regency Assurance went down by 8.00 per cent to 23 Kobo, while Honeywell Flour dropped 5.36 per cent to trade at N2.65.

Conversely, Prestige Assurance gained 9.09 per cent to sell for 48 Kobo, Sovereign Trust Insurance appreciated by 8.00 per cent to 27 Kobo, Lasaco Assurance grew by 6.48 per cent to N1.15, Unity Bank rose by 4.65 per cent to 45 Kobo, while Academy Press increased by 2.40 per cent to N2.13.

Business Post reports that when the market closed for the day by 2:30 pm, a total of 16 stocks ended on the losers’ chart, while 10 stocks were on the gainers’ log, indicating a negative market breadth and a weak investor sentiment.

In terms of the performance of the key sectors, the industrial goods counter depreciated by 4.83 per cent, the consumer goods space fell by 0.29 per cent, while the energy index declined by 0.27 per cent. Yesterday, the banking sector appreciated by 0.60 per cent, while the insurance sector improved by 0.24 per cent.

FBN Holdings was the most traded stock during the session, selling 28.4 million units worth N303.2 million, with Zenith Bank trading 16.7 million units valued at N361.7 million. UBA exchanged 11.2 million units for N78.2 million, Cornerstone Insurance traded 11.1 million units valued at N7.4 million, while Union Bank transacted 5.7 million units worth N36.5 million.

A total of 128.8 million shares worth N4.1 million were traded in 3,492 deals on Wednesday compared with the 204.2 million shares worth N1.6 billion transacted in 3,643 deals on Tuesday, showing an increase in the trading value by 151.45 per cent and a decrease in the trading volume and the number of deals by 36.92 per cent and 4.14 per cent respectively.