Stock Market Down by 0.06% as Investors Sell Dangote Sugar, Nestle

By Dipo Olowookere

The Nigerian stock market depreciated by 0.06 per cent on Friday amid profit-taking in Dangote Sugar, Nestle Nigeria, PZ Cussons and 10 other equities.

According to data obtained from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, the consumer goods, insurance and industrial goods sectors were down by 0.62 per cent, 0.25 per cent, and 0.03 per cent, respectively. They outweighed the 0.37 per cent growth posted by the banking space, partly due to the stability maintained by the energy counter.

As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 31.74 points to 52,594.68 points from 52,626.42 points, as the market capitalisation decreased by N17 billion to N28.647 trillion from N28.664 trillion.

Linkage Assurance topped the losers’ chart yesterday after it depreciated by 9.62 per cent to 47 Kobo, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance fell by 7.35 per cent to 63 Kobo, Mutual Benefits dropped 3.23 per cent to 30 Kobo, Dangote Sugar lost 2.58 per cent to trade at N17.00, and Jaiz Bank declined by 2.22 per cent to 88 Kobo.

On the flip side, Abbey Mortgage Bank was on top of the gainers’ table after it rose by 9.80 per cent to N1.68, Prestige Assurance grew by 9.52 per cent to 46 Kobo, International Energy Insurance improved by 8.89 per cent to 49 Kobo, Cornerstone Insurance gained 7.14 per cent to trade at 60 Kobo, and FTN Cocoa increased its value by 3.57 per cent to 29 Kobo.

Business Post observed that despite the loss recorded by the stock exchange yesterday, investor sentiment remained strong as there were 16 price gainers and 13 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth.

As for the level of activity, it was mixed during the session as the trading volume improved, while the trading value and the number of deals decelerated.

A total of 443.8 million stocks valued at N1.7 billion were traded in 3,100 deals on Friday compared with the 129.0 million stocks valued at N1.8 billion traded in 3,183 on Thursday, representing an increase in the volume of trades by 244.03 per cent, a decline in the value of transactions by 5.56 per cent, and a drop in the number of transactions by 2.61 per cent.

Veritas Kapital was the most traded stock yesterday, with 347.1 million units, trailed by Access Holdings with 11.4 million units. Zenith Bank traded 7.0 million stocks, Fidelity Bank transacted 6.6 million shares, and Chams sold 6.0 million equities.