FirstHoldco, Zenith Bank Drag NGX Index, Investors Lose N516bn
The Nigerian stock market halted its single-day relief rally on Wednesday as sell pressure hit FirstHoldco (4.59%), Zenith Bank (1.21%), Access Holdings (6.12%), UBA (0.24%), and GTCO (0.08%).
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-share index (ASI) fell 32 basis points as investors offloaded banking, insurance, and other sectoral names, wiping out the previous day’s gain.
According to a market report, investors’ equity portfolio value dropped by about N516 billion, with year-to-date return moderating to 57.52% at the close of the midweek trading session.
Specifically, the market index, or All-Share Index, fell by -794.64 basis points to close at 245,116.49. Market capitalisation also fell by ₦515.95 billion to close at ₦159.15 trillion.
Total volume of all shares traded rose 1.54%, while the total transaction amount fell 8.79%. Stockbrokers reported that 354.13 million units, valued at ₦23,603.14 million, were transacted across 32,585 deals.
Stockbrokers said ZENITHBANK was the most traded share, accounting for 13.71% of market volume, followed by ACCESSCORP (11.65%), FIDELITYBK (5.81%), GTCO (3.95%), and AUSTINLAZ (3.91%).
ZENITHBANK also topped the value chart, accounting for 25.14% of transactions valued in the local bourse, making it the exchange’s highest-traded stock.
LIVINGTRUST led the gainers chart, up 9.90%, followed by ABCTRANS (+9.77%), MEYER (+9.72%), LIVESTOCK (+9.65%), CAVERTON (+6.67%), FIDELITYBK (+6.02%), and twelve others.
A total of thirty-six stocks depreciated. CWG led the worst performers at -9.98%, followed by AUSTINLAZ (-9.92%), NEIMETH (-9.52%), CUSTODIAN (-7.57%), CMFC (-7.51%), and ROYALEX (-7.41%).
Hence, market breadth closed negative, with 18 gainers and 36 losers. Sectoral performance was negative today, with four of the five major market sectors declining.
The Banking sector shed -1.49%, followed by the Insurance sector (-1.41%), the Consumer goods sector (-0.43%), and the Industrial goods sector (-0.0001%). Only the Oil & Gas sector rose 0.12%. FirstHoldCo Slips 13% Below 52-Week High Ahead of Q3 Earnings
