Nigerian Exchange Slides Marginally on Pre-Easter Selloffs
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All Share Index (ASI) slid slightly on Thursday amid pre-Easter holiday sell-offs in some stocks that recently posted significant gains.
The local bourse ended the trading session relatively flat, as key performance indicators posted a marginal 0.002% loss. The session, which preceded the Easter break, saw mild profit-taking activities in selective recently appreciated stocks across key market sectors.
Specifically, the market index or All-Share Index fell by 4.66 basis points to close at 201,698.89, while market capitalisation dropped by ₦3.00 billion to ₦129.81 trillion.
Total volume of all trades executed and their total value traded declined by -31.33% and -42.14%, respectively. Atlass Portfolio Limited reported that approximately 559.98 million units, valued at ₦19,262.68 million, were transacted across 49,676 deals.
NSLTECH topped the volume chart, accounting for 10.75% of the units traded in the local bourse on Thursday, followed by WEMABANK (9.36%), VFDGROUP (6.49%), ACCESSCORP (6.35%), and CHAMS (5.58%).
ZENITHBANK topped the value chart, accounting for 12.91% of total value traded, making it the most traded on the exchange. UNILEVER topped the performer chart, gained +10.00%, trailed by FTGINSURE (+9.82%), MULTIVERSE (+9.81%), LEGENDINT (+9.38%), ZICHIS (+9.02%), SOVRENINS (+8.63%), and twenty-seven others.
A total of twenty-four stocks depreciated. With a price depreciation of -9.91%, JOHNHOLT topped the worst performers’ chart, followed by ABBEYBDS (-9.60%), INTENEGINS (-6.48%), CHAMS (-5.30%), TANTALIZER (-5.18%), and CONHALLPLC (-4.76%).
Hence, the market breadth closed on a positive note, with 33 gainers and 24 losers. The sectoral performance was positive despite profit-taking actions.
The Insurance sector increased by +0.54%, followed by the Banking sector (+0.13%) and the Industrial goods sector (+0.004%). The Consumer goods and Oil & Gas sectors declined by -0.41% and -0.10%, respectively. MTN Nigeria Lost N1.02trn over Large Scale Selloffs
