NSE LIVE! Equities slip further amidst selloff

There were nearly two decliners for every advancer on Tuesday as Nigerian equities extended their latest streak of depreciation to the third trading session. Benchmark indices at the stock market showed an average decline of 0.08 per cent, equivalent to net capital loss of N9 billion.

The All Share Index (ASI)-the value-based common index that tracks prices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) dropped by 0.08 per cent to close at 34,846.82 points. Aggregate market value of all quoted companies dropped by N9 billion to close at N12.012 trillion. The average year-to-date return thus declined to 29.66 per cent.

The downtrend was driven by losses recorded in medium and large-cap stocks including Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Seven Up Bottling Company, Nigerian Breweries, Total Nigeria and PZ Cussons.

Most sectoral indices closed in the negative. The NSE Oil & Gas Index led the decliners with a drop of 1.0 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index dropped by 0.4 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index dipped by 0.2 per cent. On the positive side, the NSE Insurance Index appreciated by 0.9 per cent while the NSE Banking Index inched up by 0.4 per cent.

There were 14 gainers against 24 losers. Linkage Assurance led the gainers table by five per cent, to close at 63 kobo per share. Mansard Insurance followed with a gain of 4.76 per cent to close at N1.99, while Jaiz Bank appreciated by 4.48 per cent to close at 70 kobo per share. Nestle Nigeria went up by 1.98 per cent to close at N1, 228.90, while Vitafoam gained by 1.89 per cent to close at N2.70 per share.

On the negative side, FBN Holdings led the laggards’ table by 4.99 per cent to close at N5.14. Seven Up trailed with a loss of 4.96 per cent, to close at N85.82, while NEM Insurance shed 4.92 per cent to close at N1.16 per share. Transnational Corporation of Nigeria declined by 4.72 per cent to close at N1.21 while Fidson shed by 4.19 per cent to close at N2.97 per share.

Total volume traded went up by 7.3 per cent to 174.66 million shares valued at N2.83 billion in 3,783 deals. Guaranty Trust Bank topped the activity chart with 33.84 million shares valued at N1.29 billion. FCMB Groups followed with 12.58 million shares worth N12.88 million. FBN Holdings traded 12.53 million shares valued at N65.22 billion. Mansard Insurance traded 11.62 million shares worth N23.12 million and Zenith Bank transacted 10.56 million shares valued at N232.62 million.

“Following sustained profit taking in the market, we expect a rebound in the near term. This view is further reinforced by the fact that the benchmark Index currently trades at an RSI of 37.8 which is close to the over-sold region,” Afrinvest Securities stated

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