Stocks Plunge by N153bn as Nigeria’s Inflation Worsens
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) tumbled strongly on Tuesday as equities investors responded negatively to worsening inflation conditions in the country. The National Bureau of Statistics announced that the consumer price index rose to 24.08% in July, from 22.79% reported in June due to the effects of subsidy removal.
Consequently, the market performance indicators dipped by –0.43 %, and stockbrokers said the downturn was due to sell-offs on some medium and large scale. Specifically, there were profit-taking activities around ETERNA, FBNH, and 29 others.
Today, the market index or All-Share Index went south by 281.51 basis points, representing a decrease of -0.43% to close at 64,928.98. Then, year-to-date return moderated to 26.69%.
However, market activities closed higher, though bears dominated activities. Total volume and total value traded increased by +8.27% and +10.48% respectively. Stock market traders at Atlass Portfolios Limited said in its market update that approximately 280.47 million units valued at ₦4,645.35 million were transacted in 6,296 deals.
TRANSCORP was the most traded stock in terms of volume, accounting for 13.01% of the total volume of trades. The conglomerates was followed by UBA (8.29%), ACCESSCORP (6.30%), STERLINGNG (5.70%), and JAPAULGOLD (4.07%) to complete the top 5 on the volume chart.
Meanwhile, MTNN was also the most traded stock in value terms, with 20.94% of the total value of trades on the exchange. TANTALIZER topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 10.00 percent. The quick restaurant service counter was followed by IKEJAHOTEL (9.82%), CORNERST (+9.30%), TIP (+8.82%), LINKASSURE (+8.33%), and fourteen others.
Thirty-one stocks depreciated as inflation pressure stoked portfolio rebalancing. ETERNA was the top loser, with a price depreciation of -9.86%, to close at ₦16.00. UNILEVER (-7.05%), AIICO (-5.63%), UACN (-4.63%), DANGSUGAR (-4.35%), and FTNCOCOA (-2.43%) also dipped in price.
As a result of the pattern seen in the local bourse, the market breadth closed negative, recording 19 gainers and 31 losers. In addition, the market sector performance closed negative.
Stockbrokers reported that four of the five major market sectors were down. The Industrial sector (-1.16%), followed by the Consumer goods sector (-0.68%), the Oil & Gas sector (-0.40%), and the Banking sector (-0.08%), while the Insurance sector was up by +1.32%.
Overall, the equities market capitalisation nosedived by ₦153.29 billion, representing a drop of -0.43%, to close at ₦35,356.6 trillion from ₦35,509.89 yesterday. #Stocks Plunge by N153bn as Nigeria’s Inflation Worsens Naira Steadies as Banks Issue Update on FX Purchase
