NSE LIVE! Equities lose N138bn amidst global downtrend

The profit-taking at the Nigerian stock market continued on Tuesday for the second consecutive trading session as investors opened up more sell orders to attract bids amidst concerns that similar profit-taking trend in the global equities markets may trigger a run on other markets.

Global concerns had mounted as the United States benchmark- Dow Jones Index, suffered its largest points fall in history, triggering a round of declines across the Asian and European markets. The US market however showed a rebound on Tuesday but the lull persisted across global markets.

The momentum of activities improved with increased turnover but pricing indicators at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) showed that transactions were mostly at discounts, underlining the widespread selloffs across the sectors and stocks groups.

Benchmark indices at the Exchange indicated an average decline of 0.87 per cent on Tuesday, equivalent to net capital depreciation of N138 billion. This brought the total capital depreciation within the two days to N273 billion, with equities having lost N135 billion on Monday. With this, the average year-to-date return now stands at 14.73 per cent.

Aggregate market value of all quoted equities at the Exchange declined from its opening value of N15.884 trillion to close at N15.746 trillion. The All Share Index (ASI)-the benchmark index that tracks share prices at the stock market, also slipped from its opening index of 44,261.72 points to close at 43,877.30 points.

With nearly three decliners for every advancer, all sectoral indices also closed in the red, underlining the underlying sell sentiment driving the market. The NSE Banking Index led with above-average decline of 2.1 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index followed with a drop of 1.0 per cent. The NSE Insurance Index declined by 0.5 per cent. The NSE Oil & Gas Index dropped by 0.4 per cent while the NSE Consumer Goods Index depreciated by 0.3 per cent.

Read also: NSE LIVE! Equities lose N135bn in opening trades

There were 48 decliners against 18 advancers. 11 Plc, formerly Mobil Oil Nigeria led the decliners with a loss of N6 to close at N210. Unilever Nigeria followed with a drop of N2.10 to close at N45.35. Flour Mills of Nigeria declined by N1.60 to close at N32.40. Zenith Bank lost N1.45 to close at N31.20. Julius Berger Nigeria dropped by N1.35 to close at N27.30. Lafarge Africa lost N1.10 to close at N51.90 per share. Presco declined by N1 to close at N70. Cement Company of Northern Nigeria lost 75 kobo to close at N18.75. FBN Holdings declined by 70 kobo to close at N12.90 while Cadbury Nigeria lost 65 kobo to close at N14.85 per share.

On the upside, Dangote Sugar Refinery and Stanbic IBTC Holdings led the advancers with a gain of N1 each to close at N22 and N47 respectively. PZ Cussons Nigeria added 35 kobo to close at N24. Red Star Express gathered 25 kobo to close at N5.75. Eterna rose by 20 kobo to close at N5.88 per share. Fidson Healthcare rose by 19 kobo to close at N4.90. Caverton Offshore Support Group added 18 kobo to close at N2.78 while Okomu Oil Palm appreciated by 10 kobo to close at N72.50 per share.

Total turnover rose to 717.15 million shares valued at N4.91 billion in 6,720 deals. Lasaco Assurance was the most active stock with a turnover of 182.76 million shares valued at N59 million. FCMB Group followed with a turnover of 90.49 million shares worth N258.56 million while Skye Bank ranked third 80 million shares worth N101.96 million.

“Following sustained sell offs across global equity markets, we anticipate a further decline in the local bourse in trading sessions ahead. As a result, we envisage possible bargain opportunities for investors ahead of the full year earnings season,” Afrinvest Securities stated.

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