NSE Index Sheds 1.25% as Nestle Loses N145 Per Share

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Activities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) opened bearish on Monday with the major market indicators finishing in the negative territory.

The equities market closed 1.25 percent lower yesterday with the Year-to-Date (YtD) returns ending at -12.11 percent as the prices of stocks continue to fall.

While the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 426.22 points to close at 33,611.69 points, the market capitalisation reduced by N155 billion to settle at N12.271 trillion.

Business Post reports that the market breadth closed negative on Monday with 21 price losers and 11 price gainers.

The heaviest price loser yesterday was Nestle Nigeria. The company’s shares went down by N145 to close at N1355 per share.

It was followed by Forte Oil, which went down by N1.95k to finish at N19.05k per share, and Global Spectrum Energy Services, which depreciated by 60 kobo to end at N5.75k per share.

GTBank decreased by 50 kobo to settle at N34.50k per share, while Nigerian Breweries reduced by 40 kobo to end at N92.50k per share.

On the flip side, Flour Mills led the gainers’ chart after appreciating by 50 kobo to close at N22 per share.

Custodian Investment rose by 10 kobo to end at N5.50k per share, while Honeywell Flour increased by 8 kobo to settle at N1.52k per share.

UPL also grew by 8 kobo to end at N2 per share, while NPF Microfinance Bank went up by 5 kobo to settle at N1.65k per share.

The volume of stocks transacted at the market on Monday decreased by 11.75 percent from 156 million to 137.6 million, while the value went down by 35.53 percent from N2.1 billion to N1.4 billion.

A breakdown indicated that the Financial Services sector led the activity chart with 121.4 million shares worth N882 million, while the Oil and Gas industry followed with 4.1 million equities valued at N52 million.

Diamond Bank was the most traded stock yesterday, accounting for 30.1 million units exchanged for N40.4 million.

It was followed by UBA, which traded 16.7 million equities worth N130.9 million, and GTBank, which sold 11.3 million shares valued at N390.9 million.

Fidelity Bank traded 10.1 million shares worth N17.2 million, while FBN Holdings transacted 6.6 million equities worth N59.8 million.