Transactions on the equities sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), reversed past positive trading sentiment to reopen on a downturn yesterday, causing market capitalisation to slump by N188 billion.
Specifically, the All-Share Index (ASI), which measures the performance of quoted companies declined by 160.59 absolute points or 0.60 per cent to close at 26,691.09 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation of listed equities lost N188 billion to close at N12.883 trillion.
The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which were; Okomu Oil, Access Bank, Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI), United Bank for Africa (UBA), and Caverton Offshore Support Group.
Despite Monday’s decline, analysts at United Capital Plc said: “This week, we expect investors to continue to lock in gains in stocks with strong fundamentals, as the system remains awash with liquidity.”
However, market breadth closed positive, with 16 gainers versus 14 losers. Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at 44 kobo, per share.
Jaiz Bank followed with 9.86 per cent to close at 78 kobo, while Ikeja Hotel rose 9.47 per cent to close at N1.04, per share. Custodian Investment edged 9.09 per cent to close at N6.00, and Courteville Business Solutions 8.70 per cent to close at 25 kobo, per share.
On the other hand, Wema Bank led the losers’ chart with 7.89 per cent to close at 70 kobo per share. FCMB Groups followed with 7.50 per cent to close at N1.85, while Caverton Offshore Support Group was down 7.41 to close at N2.50, per share.
Access Bank and ETI lost 6.67 per cent each, to close at N9.80 and N7.00, respectively, while Okomu Oil shed 5.57 per cent to close at N50, per share.
Total volume traded decreased by 34.47 per cent to 307.96 million shares worth N2.54 billion, traded in 4,609 deals.
Transactions in the shares of UAC of Nigeria (UACN) topped the activity chart with 102.55 million shares valued at N636.15 million. Zenith Bank followed with 29.44 million shares worth N555.84 million.
UBA while traded 20.81 million shares at N147.44 million. Access Bank traded 20.24 million shares worth N195.62 million, while FBN Holdings transacted 14.67 million shares valued at N96.65 million.
