BUA Foods, Unilever Selloffs Drag NGX Index, Investors Lose N1.8trn
BUA Foods and Unilever Nigeria Plc are among the decliners that dragged the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) southward, amid sustained profit-taking across key sectors.
The equities market closed trading activities on a negative note, as key performance indicators showed mixed outcomes.
The NGX-ASI declined by -1.12%, while the overall market capitalisation decreased by -1.11% due to additional shares listed by LASACO Assurance Plc in the local bourse today.
Specifically, stockbrokers reported that 9,236,321,546 Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo each arising from LASACO Assurance Plc’s Rights Issue of 9,236,321,546 Ordinary Shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share were officially listed in the market.
This eased pressure, with the market index falling by -2,756.48 basis points to close at 243,967.09, while market capitalisation declined by ₦1,761.73 billion to close at ₦157.49 trillion.
With the Consumer goods sector leading the decline, negative sentiment persisted, driven by sustained profit-taking in mid-cap and blue-chip stocks, including BUAFOODS, UNILEVER, ACCESSCORP, and HBMNG, among others, across major market sectors.
Total volume and the total value of all transactions executed in the domestic exchange declined by -62.78% and -35.35%, respectively. Stockbrokers reported that approximately 1,455.21 million units valued at ₦20,935.53 million were transacted across 39,085 deals.
FTGINSURE drove volume, accounting for 58.68% of all shares traded in the stock market, followed by UNIVINSURE (17.32%), CHAMS (2.75%), FIRSTHOLDCO (1.95%), and ACCESSCORP (1.75%).
FIRSTHOLDCO accounted for 18.73% of the total value of all trades conducted at the Lagos bourse, thereby making it the most traded on the exchange.
INTENEGINS led the gainers chart, edged higher by +10.00%, then trailed by ETI (+9.93%), TRANSEXPR (+9.77%), CWG (+9.74%), CORNERST (+6.80%), VERITASKAP (+6.25%), and twenty-two others.
A total of twenty-seven stocks depreciated. With a price depreciation of -10.00%, BUAFOODS topped the worst performers’ chart, followed by UNILEVER (-9.97%), JOHNHOLT (-9.90%), AVACAP (-9.50%), AUSTINLAZ (-8.81%), and NEIMETH (-6.40%).
Hence, market breadth closed positive, with 28 gainers and 27 losers. Sectoral performance was negative today, with three of the five major market sectors declining.
The Consumer goods sector led the decline by -4.93%, followed by the Industrial goods sector (-0.42%), and the Banking sector (-0.30%). The Insurance sector and the Oil & Gas sector increased by +0.71% and +0.02%, respectively. Equities Market Loses N1.2trn as Investors Sell MTNN, FirstHoldCo Stock
