Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session of the new week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited started on a negative note on Monday with a 0.33 per cent loss.
Sustained selling pressure on Nigerian stocks in the major sectors of the exchange contributed to the decline suffered during the session, with the industrial goods space taking the lead with a 0.43 per cent fall.
The insurance sector went down by 0.32 per cent, while the banking counter dropped 0.09 per cent, with the energy and consumer goods sectors rising by 0.27 per cent and 0.20 per cent respectively.
When trading activities closed for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) was down by 155.01 points to 46,687.85 points from 46,842.86 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N84 billion to settle at N25.170 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N25.254 trillion.
Business Post reports that investors traded 219.5 million stocks worth N1.9 billion in 5,168 deals on Monday in contrast to the 257.3 million stocks worth N2.9 billion traded in 4,586 deals last Friday, indicating a decline in the trading volume and value by 14.70 per cent and 32.57 per cent respectively and a 12.69 increase in the number of deals.
Transcorp finished the day as the most traded stock with the sale of 28.9 million units valued at N28.5 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 23.5 million units for N80.0 million, UBA sold 15.1 million units worth N113.7 million, Zenith Bank transacted 12.6 million units worth N278.4 million, while Access Holdings traded 12.0 million units valued at N116.2 million.
Despite the decline in the key performance indicators, the market breadth closed positive yesterday with 22 price gainers and 19 price losers led by Regency Assurance, which dropped 9.68 per cent to sell for 28 kobo.
Japaul depreciated by 8.82 per cent to close at 31 kobo, Coronation Insurance decreased by 6.82 per cent to 41 kobo, Linkage Assurance went down by 6.00 per cent to 47 kobo, while Jaiz Bank declined by 5.71 per cent to 66 kobo.
On the flip side, Red Star Express topped the gainers’ chart after its value went up by 10.00 per cent to settle at N2.97, followed by NAHCO, which gained 9.79 per cent to finish at N4.71.
Meyer appreciated by 9.72 per cent to 79 kobo, Veritas Kapital improved by 9.52 per cent to 23 kobo, while UPDC rose by 9.21 per cent to 83 kobo.
