NGX halts gains as losses in MTNN, 18 stocks drag indices by N86b

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) halted a five-day gaining streak to close on a downturn yesterday, amid profit taking in MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN) and 18 stocks, as market capitalisation declined by N86 billion.

Specifically, at the close of transactions yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 158.87 absolute points, representing a dip of 0.31 per cent to close at 51,803.98 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation lost N86 billion to close at N27.928 trillion.

The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are: MTNN, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGXGroup), University Press, PZ Cussons Nigeria and Oando.

Analysts at GTI Securities Limited said that, “The equities market closed trading activities for yesterday bearish, as profit-taking was seen across the major market sector, excluding the Consumer goods sector, which grew by 0.29 per cent. However, we expect bargain hunting to persist throughout the week.”

Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “We are likely to see improvement in sectoral performance given the declines posted across board today. Also, barring any block transactions, we expect market activity to revert to prior level.”

Also, market breadth closed negative, with 19 losers and 10 gainers. Sovereign Trust Insurance recorded the highest price gain of 8.00 per cent to close at 27 kobo while Cham Plc followed with a gain of 4.17 per cent to close at 25 kobo.

Regency Alliance Insurance went up by 3.85 per cent to close at 27 kobo, while Okomu Oil and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) appreciated by 3.29 per cent each to close at N216.90 and N11 respectively. FBN Holdings added 2.75 per cent to close at N11.20 kobo.

Nigerian Breweries appreciated by 1.81 per cent to close at N59. TransNational Corporation garnered 1.63 per cent to close at N1.25 kobo. United Bank for Africa (UBA) gained 1.35 per cent to close at N7.50 kobo. Union Bank also appreciated by 85 per cent to close at N5.90 kobo.

On the other hand, University Press led the losers’ chart by 9.72 per cent, to close at N2.60 kobo..

NGXGroup followed with a decline of 26.71 per cent to close at N22.85, while Caverton Offshore Support Group went down by 4.76 to close at N1.

Livestock Feeds lost 3.57 per cent to close at N1.35, while Fidelity Bank shed 3.53 per cent to close at N3.28 kobo.

However, the total volume traded rose 18.05 per cent to 14.612 million shares, worth N12.846 billion, and traded in 4,708 deals. Transactions in the shares of LivingTrust Mortgage Bank topped the activity chart with 100 million shares valued at N120 million.

MTNN followed with 42.902 million shares worth N9.868 billion, while FBN Holdings (FBNH) traded 19.834 million shares valued at N219.077 million.

United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 16.120 million shares valued at N119.986 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 16.088 million shares worth N348.846 million.