Stocks Shed N15bn Thursday as Year-to-Date Loss hits 13.93%

By Dipo Olowookere

Transactions on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) remained bearish on Thursday as investors continue to selloff their holdings due to some uncertainties.

This led to the reduction in the market value yesterday by N15 billion to settle at N13.183 trillion, while the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 30.18 points to finish at 27,052.93 points.

Business Post reports that the market closed on Thursday with a total of 23 price losers as against the only nine price gainers, which left the market breadth negative.

Topping the risers chart was MTN Nigeria, which added N5.75k to its share price to close at N135 per share, with CCNN occupying the second position with N1.25k gain to end at N14.50k per unit.

Dangote Flour appreciated by 30 kobo to finish at N20.80k per share, Union Bank rose by 20 kobo to settle at N7 per unit, while Zenith Bank grew by 5 kobo to end at N16.25k per share.

At the other side, Stanbic IBTC dominated the price decliners’ table with a price depreciation of N3.80k to finish at N34.30k per share, while Unilever Nigeria shed N3.20k to close at N28.80k per unit.

Dangote Cement depreciated yesterday by N3 to end at N162 per share, Ecobank went down by 70 kobo to settle at N6.30k per share, while Custodian Investment declined by 60 kobo to close at N5.60k per unit.

During yesterday’s trading session, Business Post observed that the activity level was mixed with the volume of trades going down by 0.82 percent, while the value of the transactions went up by 10.48 percent.

The volume of shares exchanged by investors dropped to 233.2 million on Thursday from 235.1 million on Wednesday, while the value of the equities rose to N3.6 billion yesterday N3.3 billion.

Dominating the activity chart at the stock market yesterday was GTBank as investors traded 42.5 million units of the company’s shares worth N1.1 billion.

It was trailed by Transcorp, which sold 37.9 million valued at N33.1 million, Access Bank, which exchanged 22.1 million equities worth N130.1 million, Fidelity Bank, which transacted 19.4 million shares for N28.2 million, and Zenith Bank, which exchanged 18.3 million equities worth N298.6 million.