Sell-off in 31 stocks drag indices further by N551 billion

Transactions on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) reopened on a downturn, yesterday, as losses in Dangote cement, flour mills, and others dragged market capitalisation by N551 billion.

At the close of transactions yesterday, the All Share Index (ASI) decreased by 1,021.34 absolute points, representing a dip of 1.97 per cent to close at 50,756.74 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation lost N551 billion to close at N27.363 trillion.

The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are, Dangote Cement, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Lafarge Africa, Fidson Healthcare and FBN Holdings (FBNH).

Analysts at GTI Securities Limited stated: “Equities market resumed the week negative, as the bearish trend persists. We expect cautious trading and profit taking to continue in the domestic market.”

Vetiva Dealing and Brokerage said: “We saw sell-offs in the banking space moderate, yesterday, amid price recovery in selected names while other sectors yielded to the sell pressure. Given the current economic situation leading to higher yields in the fixed income space, we anticipate continued tepid trading in the equities market.”

Market breadth closed negative, as 31 stocks depreciated in price while seven others constituted the losers’ chart. Dangote Cement and Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) led the losers’ chart by 10.00 per cent each to close at N249.30 kobo and N5.40 kobo respectively, while Livestock Feeds followed with a decline of 9.77 per cent to close at N1.20 kobo.

International Breweries lost 9.60 per cent to close at N5.65 kobo. Flour Mills of Nigeria shed 8.57 per cent to close at N32.00 kobo. FTN Cocoa depreciated by 8.57 per cent to close at 32 kobo. Sovereign Trust shed 7.41 kobo to close at 25 kobo.

FBN Holdings lost 7.22 per cent to close at N9. Fidson dropped 6.67 per cent to close at N11.20 kobo. Lafarge WAPCO declined by 4.66 per cent to close at N26.60 kobo. Lasaco Assurance also fell by 4.63 per cent to close at N1.03 kobo.

On the other hand, Jaiz Bank recorded the highest price gain of 5.32 per cent, to close at 99 kobo, per share. Regency Alliance Insurance followed with a gain of 3.70 per cent to close at 28 kobo.

Japaul Gold and Ventures appreciated by 3.33 per cent to close at 31 kobo, per share. Zenith Bank went up by 2.80 per cent to close at N22.00, while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) appreciated by 2.63 per cent to close at N7.80 kobo.

However, the total volume traded rose 43.04 per cent to 345.005 million shares, worth N3.073 billion, and traded in 5,075 deals. Transactions in the shares of FCMB Group topped the activity chart with 177.592 million shares valued at N668.970 million.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) followed with 29.499 million shares worth N221.187 million, while Access Holdings traded 21.965 million shares valued at N206.365 million.

FBNH traded 12.574 million shares valued at N113.966 million, while Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) transacted 11.565 million shares worth N14.334 million.