Equities market down by N581bn, extends losses to fourth consecutive trading session
The Nigerian equities market closed on Thursday session in negative territory, extending losses to the fourth consecutive trading session as the overall capitalization declined by N581 billion.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (NGX ASI) declined by 905.30 per cent, representing a loss of 0.37 per cent, to close at 242,227.31 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value shed N581 billion to close at N155.359 trillion.
The market negative performance was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are; Aradel Holdings, UACN, Stanbic IBTC Holdings, Eterna and Transnational Corporation (Transcorp).
On market performance, Imperial Asset Managers Limited said, “short-term volatility may persist, driven by continued profit taking in stocks and sustained repositioning across mid-cap stocks that have accumulated significant gains in prior sessions.
“Investors are advised to remain selective, focusing on fundamentally sound names with visible earnings support and dividend appeal, while staying alert to value entry opportunities in quality counters that have retreated to attractive price levels.”
Market breadth was negative, as 30 decliners outpaced 24 advancers. International Energy Insurance recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at N6.60, per share. Omatek Ventures followed with a gain of 9.73 per cent to close at N2.03, while Ellah Lakes and Abbey Mortgage Bank up by 9.68 per cent to close at N8.50, per share.
Cutix rose by 9.66 per cent to close at N3.18, while John Holt up by 7.97 per cent to close at N14.90, per share.
On the other hand, McNichols led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N7.74, per share. Associated Bus Company followed with a decline of 9.88 per cent to close at N6.20, while Eterna lost 9.85 per cent to close at N29.75, per share.
Aradel Holdings down by 9.51 per cent to close at N1,749.90, while NPF Microfinance Bank declined by 8.45 per cent to close at N5.20, per share.
Meanwhile, the total volume traded declined by 43.4 per cent to 522.28 million units, valued at N24.11 billion, and exchanged in 53,613 deals Transactions in the shares of Access Holdings topped the activity chart with 109.719 million shares valued at N2.617 million. FCMB Group followed with 34.599 million shares worth N384.162 million, while Nigerian Exchange Group traded 28.045 million shares valued at N3.889 billion.
Zenith Bank traded 26.937 million shares valued at N3.318 billion, while Sterling Financial Holdings Company transacted 22.492 million shares worth N176.098 million.
