Dipo Olowookere
By Dipo Olowookere
Trading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) were weak on Thursday as investor confidence continues to wane.
The equity market depreciated by 0.60 per cent during the session on the back of the loss printed by the industrial goods sector due to a sell-off in Dangote Cement shares.
The sector was the lone loser yesterday as it fell by 1.70 per cent. The insurance, consumer goods and banking counters appreciated by 0.69 per cent, 0.42 per cent and 0.01 per cent respectively, while the energy index closed flat.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 234.08 to 38,697.17 points from the previous 38,931.25 points, while the market capitalisation went down by N122 billion to N20.247 trillion from N20.369 trillion it closed on Wednesday.
Business Post reports that the trading volume decreased yesterday by 54.01 per cent to 169.4 million units from 368.2 million units.
Also, the trading value dropped 56.83 per cent to N2.1 billion from N4.9 billion, while the number of deals declined by 19.59 per cent to 3,568 deals from 4,437 deals.
AIICO dominated the activity chart on Thursday with the sale of 19.7 million units worth N23.3 million, while UBA traded 16.2 million units valued at N113.2 million.
Furthermore, Zenith Bank transacted 11.5 million shares for N247.4 million, Axa Mansard Insurance exchanged 10.5 million stocks worth N10.3 million, while Jaiz Bank traded 9.5 million equities valued at N6.1 million.
On the price movement chart, African Alliance Insurance topped the losers’ table with a price depreciation of 8.33 per cent to close at 22 kobo.
Mutual Benefits Assurance and Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 7.14 per cent each to trade at 39 kobo and 26 kobo respectively. University Press declined by 4.92 per cent to N1.16, while Jaiz Bank dropped 4.41 per cent to sell at 65 kobo.
At the other end, Smart Products Nigeria was the highest price riser of the session with 10.00 per cent growth to finish at 22 kobo.
International Breweries appreciated by 9.89 per cent to end at N5, Champion Breweries grew by 9.09 per cent to N2.40, Royal Exchange gained 8.33 per cent to close at 26 kobo, while Livestock Feeds appreciated by 7.65 per cent to N1.83.
