NSE LIVE! Equities lose N36b amidst profit-taking

After two positive consecutive trading sessions, Nigerians equities came under sell pressure on Thursday as investors turned round to take profit. With 27 decliners to 19 advancers, the overall market position shifted downward, dropping by N36 billion.

The All Share Index (ASI)-the common value-based index that tracks share prices at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), declined by 0.29 per cent to close Thursday at 36,517.48 points as against its opening index of 36,622.85 points.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the Exchange dropped from its opening value of N12.675 trillion to close at N12.639 trillion. The decline depressed the average year-to-date return for Nigerian equities to 35.88 per cent.

Most sectoral indices also closed negative. The NSE Insurance Index dropped by 1.2 per cent. The NSE Consumer Goods Index dropped by 1.0 per cent. The NSE Oil & Gas Index dipped by 0.5 per cent while the NSE Banking Index slipped by 0.20 per cent.

The momentum of activities improved with investors staking N4.22 billion on 356.80 million shares in 4,384 deals. United Bank for Africa was the most active stock with a turnover of 90.5 million shares valued at N842.01 million. Fidelity Bank followed with a turnover of 37.07 million shares worth N62.42 million while Custodian and Allied placed third with 35.54 million shares valued at N142.10 million.

Read also: NSE LIVE! Equities reopen with N105bn loss

Brewers led the decliners. Nigerian Breweries-the second most capitalised quoted company, led the downside with a drop of N6 to close at N155. International Breweries followed with a drop of N2.72 to close at N51.78. Forte Oil dropped by N2.12 to close at N40.30. PZ Cussons Nigeria lost N1 to close at N23. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria dropped by 47 kobo to close at N9.70. Mobil Oil Nigeria declined by 40 kobo to close at N155.60 while Guaranty Trust Bank lost 30 kobo to close at N41.70 per share.

On the upside, Nascon Allied Industries rose by N1.55 to close at N16.77. Presco followed with a gain of N1.50 to close at N66.50. Lafarge Africa added N1.46 to close at N52. Dangote Sugar Refinery rose by N1.28 to close at N15.84. Danfote Flour Mills gathered 76 kobo to close at N8.26 while Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 65 kobo to close at N101 per share.

“Given today (Thursday)’s negative performance, we expect nine-month 2017 releases to continue to dictate market performance in the near term. However, we advise investors stay bullish on stocks with strong fundamentals,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

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