Equities Investors Lose N673bn as FBNH, MTNN Tumble

Equities Investors Lose N673bn as FBNH, MTNN Tumble

Equities investors on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) lost more than N673 billion on Wednesday due to sustained selloffs on shares of FBN Holdings Plc, including the latest risk off sentiment on MTN Nigeria and other blue chip stocks.

There has been massive price correction in April, causing companies with high market cap to lose weight.  Most of the selloffs occurred in the banking sector, despite stable dividend and strong earnings releases.

This time, despite their oversize profitability, investors are offloading their interest in banks, especially, tier 1 lenders, amidst recapitalisation programme. Some banks have indicated plan to raise additional capital via public, private placement and rights issue.

The risk of recapitalisation, in addition to elevated yield in the fixed income market has supported market corrections on companies share with not so strong fundamentals or those that have been overbought.

In the midweek, the Nigerian equity market closed trading activities negative, causing market performance indicators dipped by -1.20%. Despite this, market breadth closing positive.

Stockbrokers at Atlass Portfolios Limited reported that sell-off in blue-chip stocks such as MTNN, FBNH, and others.  The bearish run dragged down the Lagos bourse by approximately ₦873 billion in two days. Consequently, market index or the All-Share Index decreased by 1,190.24 basis points. This represents a decline of -1.20% to close at 98,121.30 points.

However, market activities ended on a mixed note, according to data from the Nigerian Exchange. The total volume traded for the dropped by -31.11%, stockbrokers said. Meanwhile, the total value traded increased by +22.10%, according to information obtained from the Nigerian bourse.

Approximately 395.75 million units valued at ₦9,576.08 million were transacted in 7,907 deals. Atlass Portfolios Limited told investors in an update released. GTCO was the most traded stock in terms of volume, accounting for 20.59% of the total volume of trades.

The financial services company was followed by ZENITHBANK (11.68%), UBA (10.52%), FBNH (5.93%), and ACCESSCORP (5.64%) to complete the top 5 on the volume chart. As a result of its size, GTCO was also the most traded stock in value terms, with 26.14% of the total value of trades on the exchange.

NEIMETH, SUNUASSUR, and TIP topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 10.00 percent each, trailed by CAP with which rose by +9.90%. Other gainers include: UPDC (+9.76%), MCNICHOLS (+9.57%), FCMB (+9.23%), CUTIX (+9.09%), and fourteen others. Nineteen stocks depreciated, data from NGX revealed.

MTNN, and TRANSCOHOT were the top losers, with a price depreciation of -10.00% each. Other companies stocks on the loser chart are: OANDO (-9.90%), FBNH (-9.82%), FIDSON (-9.75%), ROYALEX (-8.82%), and TRANSCORP (-6.71%). At the end of the trading sessions, the market breadth closed positive, recording 22 gainers and 19 losers.

In addition, the market sector performance closed par, as two of the five major market sectors were down. The Banking sector by lost -0.83%, and the Insurance sector by dipped by -0.27%. On positive side, the Consumer goods and Industrial sectors grew by +0.05% and +0.02% accordingly. The Oil & Gas and Industrial sectors closed flat.

Overall, the equities market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange declined by  ₦673.16 billion, representing a decrease of -1.20%, to close at ₦55.49 trillion. Naira Steadies as Banks Issue Update on FX Purchase