Equities Market Slumps by N337bn as Investors Book Profit
The equities market lost more than N337 billion as sell side investors returned after a one day rally. The local bourse bled profusely midweek due to negative transactions on banking and oil and gas stocks in particular.
This caused the Nigerian Exchange key performance indicators to go south, down by 57 basis points on the day, reversing Tuesday’s rally. The market index or All-Share Index fell by 556.37 basis points in today’s trading session, reflecting a 0.57% decrease to close at 96,567.24 points.
Stockbrokers spotted profit-taking activity in some key stocks across the Banking and Consumer goods sectors. UBA, ZENITHBANK shareholders reduced their holdings despite strong earnings released by the top banks.
Today, equities market activities declined as the total volume and total value traded for today dropped by 88.39% and 60.73% respectively. In its market update, Atlass Portfolios Limited told investors that approximately 418.39 million units valued at ₦10,041.26 million were transacted across 9,021 deals.
STERLINGNG was the most traded stock in terms of volume, accounting for 19.04% of the total volume of traded in the equities market. Other volume drivers include UBA (18.87%), ACCESSCORP (10.62%), JAIZBANK (10.43%), and VERITASKAP (6.04%).
UBA emerged as the most traded stock in value terms, accounting for 25.59% of the total value of trades on the exchange. EUNISELL topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 9.87 percent, trailed by REGALINS, which gained +9.30%.
Other gainers include VERITASKAP (+9.17%), DAARCOMM (+8.93%), FCMB (+7.33%), ETI (+7.34%), and fourteen others. Twenty-one stocks depreciated, according to a separate report released by stockbroking firms.
UBA was the top loser with a price depreciation of -9.99%. Other decliners include OANDO (-9.98%), NASCON (-7.83%), LASACO (-7.50%), TRANSCORP (-3.33%), and ZENITHBANK (-0.81%).
At the end of the trading session, the market breadth closed slightly negative, recording 20 gainers and 21 losers. The Oil & Gas (+0.80%), Insurance (+0.49%) and Industrial Goods (+0.03%) closed up from buy interests in CONOIL (+3.32%), VERITASKAP (+9.17%) and WAPCO (+0.66%), respectively.
On the other hand, banking (-0.92%) and consumer goods (-0.13%) closed bearish from selloffs in UBA (-9.99%) and NASCON (-7.83%). Overall, the Nigerian Exchange equities market capitalization lost ₦337.13 billion to close at ₦58.51 trillion on Wednesday. #Equities Market Slumps by N337bn as Investors Book Profit #Treasury Bills Market Rally Ahead of CBN Midweek Auction
