NSE Indices Lose 1.07% as Market Remains Volatile

By Dipo Olowookere

Trading on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) remained in the red zone on Wednesday as investors continue to offload their stocks across different sectors.

At the close of business today, the local bourse went down by 1.07 percent with the YtD returns deflating to 6.69 percent.

The All-Share Index (ASI) slipped 441.16 points to settle at 40,802.08 points, while the market capitalisation went down by N159.4 billion to close at N14.740 trillion.

The volume equities sold on the floor of the exchange increased today by 51.66 percent, but the value went down by 11.72 percent.

By the time market activities were brought to an end, investors traded a total of 535.2 million shares worth N3.7 billion in 4,717 deals against the 352.9 million equities sold the previous session in 4,807 deals worth N4.1 billion.

Like yesterday, the Financial Services sector led the activity chart with 304.2 million shares exchanged for N1.8 billion, while the Consumer Goods sector followed with 172.3 million equities sold for N1 billion.

Shares of Champion Breweries caught the attention of investors today with a total of 153.9 million units exchanged for N397.1 million.

It was followed by Skye Bank, which traded 104.7 million equities at N81.6 million, and Sterling Bank, which transacted 41.2 million shares for N72.2 million.

FBN Holdings traded 28.5 million shares for N346.8 million, while Lasaco Assurance sold 24 million equities worth N8.2 million.

Business Post reports that the market breadth remained negative as the market recorded 18 appreciating stocks and 28 depreciating equities.

Lafarge emerged the most declining stock today after losing N2.30k of its share value to settle at N46.40k per share.

It was followed by Dangote Cement with N2 lost to close at N253 per share, and Total Nigeria, which fell by N1.70k to finish at N238.30k per share.

GTBank went down by 85k to end at N42.75k per share, while Ecobank slipped by 75k to settle at N16.35k per share.

On the flip side, it was a very good day for GlaxoSmithKline as the stock rose by N3.10k on Wednesday to close at N34 per share.

It was trailed by Unilever, which appreciated by N2.55k to finish at N55 per share, and Stanbic IBTC, which advanced by N1.70k to end at N48 per share.

Nestle Nigeria moved up by N1.30k to settle at N1340.30k per share, while PZ Cussons improved by N1 to finish at N23 per share.