Nigerian equities market drops by N800bn
The Nigerian equities market took a pause to its recent gains, closing lower as the overall capitalization declined by N800 billion.
The All-Share Index dipped by 1,241.19 per cent, representing a loss of 0.50 per cent, to close at 245,418.37 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value shed N800 billion to close at N158.319 trillion.
The market negative performance was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are; Nestle Nigeria, BUA Foods, UACN, Guinness Nigeria and MeCure Industries.
Investor sentiment was positive as 37 advancers outpaced 27 decliners. Cadbury Nigeria, Trans-Nationwide Express and Unilever Nigeria recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent each to close at N62.70, N3.08 and N137.50 respectively, per share. Thomas Wyatt Nigeria followed with a gain of 9.95 per cent to close at N4.09, while NASCON Allied Industries rose by 8.89 per cent to close at N196.00, per share.
On the other hand, Nestle Nigeria and BUA Foods led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent each to close at N2,812.50 and N845.10 respectively, while MeCure Industries followed with a decline of 9.94 per cent to close at N69.30, per share.
International Energy Insurance shed 9.84 per cent to close at N4.40, while UACN lost 7.75 per cent to close at N184.45, per share.
The total volume traded rose by 34.34 per cent to 1.253 billion units, valued at N118.179 billion, and exchanged in 47,458 deals. Transactions in the shares of First Holdco topped the activity chart with 736.038 million shares valued at N80.812 billion. Access Holdings followed with 79.580 million shares worth N2.094 billion, while Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) traded 34.044 million shares valued at N4.419 billion.
Mutual Benefits Assurance traded 24.361 million shares valued at N85.326 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 21.455 million shares worth N2.575 billion.
