Weak sentiments and selloffs across bellwether stocks, especially MTN Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank, and Seplat led to the market’s largest fall in three weeks, as investors fortunes slumped further by N70 billion.
At the close of trading yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 133.45 absolute points or 0.54 per cent to close at 24,650.16 points. Similarly, investors lost N70 billion as market capitalisation fell to N12.859 trillion.
The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in large and medium value stocks, including Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Total Nigeria, MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN), Julius Berger, and Guaranty Trust Bank.
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited predicted that the performance of the market this week would be majorly dictated by the trend in earnings releases.
However, market breadth remained weak with 14 gainers and 17 losers. Berger Paints Nigeria, and Mutual Benefits Assurance recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each, to close at N6.05 and 22 kobo, respectively, while Unity Bank followed with 8.77 per cent to close at 62 kobo, per share.
Okomu Oil rose 6.31 per cent to close at N74.95, and Oando garnered 5.58 per cent to close at N2.27, per share.
On the other hand, Total Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 9.95 per cent to close at N87.80 per share.
Seplat followed with 9.82 per cent to close at N282.00, and NPF Microfinance Bank lost 7.75 per cent to close at N1.31, per share.
UAC of Nigeria (UACN) shed 6.85 per cent to close at N6.80, while Julius Berger fell 6.25 per cent to close at N15.00, per share.
Also, the total volume of trade slipped by 11.53 per cent to 150.399 million units worth N1.978 billion, exchanged in 3,780 deals. Transactions in the shares of Mutual Benefits Assurance topped the activity chart with 26.924 million shares valued at N5.559 million.
FBN Holdings followed with 17.037 million shares worth N84.158 million, and Access Bank traded 11.238 million shares at N69.798 million.
Lafarge Africa traded 10.612 million shares valued at N130.778 million, while Guaranty Trust Bank transacted 8.453 million shares worth N190.444 million.
