Equities market depreciates by N125bn

The equities market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Thursday depreciated as investors remain cautious in anticipation of the upcoming Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting next week.

Thus, the NGX-All Share Index (NGX-ASI) declined by 231.57 basis points or 0.47 per cent to close at 49,190.34 basis points.

Similarly, market capitalisation lost N125 billion to close at N26.533 trillion.

The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Guinness Nigeria, BUA Cement, Cadbury Nigeria, Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX Group) and Unilever Nigeria.

Also, market breadth closed negative, with 14 losers versus 10 gainers. Trans Nationwide Express recorded the highest price gain of 8.70 per cent to close at 75 kobo per share.

NEM Insurance followed with a gain of 2.67 per cent to close at N5.39, while Cutix rose 2.50 per cent to close at N2.05 per share.

Academy Press went up by 2.41 per cent to close at N1.70, while International Breweries appreciated by 2.02 per cent to close at N5.05 per share.

On the other hand, Cornerstone Insurance led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at 54 kobo per share.

Multiverse Mining and Exploration followed with a decline of 9.90 per cent to close at N2.82, while Cadbury Nigeria declined by 9.62 per cent to close at N11.75 per share.

BUA Cement lost 6.18 per cent to close at N50.10, while Guinness Nigeria shed 5.57 per cent to close at N83.00 per share.

However, the total volume traded increased by 144.5 per cent to 126.843 million units, valued at N1.782 billion, and exchanged in 3,117 deals.

Transactions in the shares of NGX Group topped the activity chart with 30.754 million shares valued at N553.541 million. Zenith Bank followed with 24.391 million shares worth N488.008 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 13.837 million shares valued at N50.659 million.

FBN Holdings (FBNH) traded 11.033 million shares valued at N110.814 million, while Access Holdings transacted 8.228 million shares worth N68.214 million.

Analysts at United Capital said: “Domestic market extends previous day’s loss; as market sentiments dip in reaction to recent local and global economic trends. Investors remain on edge on the outlook of the economic and financial market.”