Market Index Sinks as Sell Pressures Hit Nigerian Bourse
The equities market index sinks again on Thursday as bears resurface in the local bourse, cutting lower market capitalisation of all listed companies stock by more than N21 billion.
The selloff recorded today’s upturn yesterday’s rally. Some mid to large caps have their share price rerate ahead of the monetary policy committee of the Central Bank of Nigeria meeting scheduled for Monday and Tuesday.
The stock market has fallen to its near-year low as investors pull out funds into the fixed income segment following interest rate hikes triggered by the apex bank’s efforts to combat rising inflation rate.
Trading data from the local bourse show that key performance indicators plunged by 0.09%, the same direction as a year-to-date return – which had crossed 16% in 2022 before making a 360-degree U-turn.
Today, the All-Share Index was down by 39.22 basis points to close at 44,011.22, according to data from the local bourse.
Market activities were down, as the total volume and total value traded for the day reduced by -38.72% and -70.36% respectively, Stockbrokers at Atlass Portfolios Limited said in a market report.
Equities market analysts and stockbrokers said approximately 97.70 million units valued at ₦847.88 million were transacted in 2,980 deals. TRANSCORP was the most traded stock in terms of volume, accounting for 11.14% of the total volume of trades.
The hotel operator was followed by ACCESSCORP (8.46%), STERLNBANK (7.75%), GTCO (7.31%), and NAHCO (7.31%) to complete the top 5 on the volume chart.
Meanwhile, GTCO was the most traded stock in value terms, with 15.86% of the total value of trades on the exchange. UNILEVER topped the advancers’ chart with a price appreciation of 10.00 percent.
The FMCG operator’s share was trailed by STANBIC which popped higher by 9.09%. UPL gained 8.93% and SOVRENINS rose by 8.33%. ROYALEX inched higher by 6.85% while the others eight listed companies have their share priced upward.
The market report indicates that twenty-one stocks depreciated, topped by GUINNESS with a price depreciation of -9.97% to close at ₦60.50. ABCTRANS was down by 8.00%, UCAP lost 5.83% and OANDO declined by 5.76%.
Other shares that were depressed by selloffs include DANGSUGAR which dropped by 2.76%, VITAFOAM fell by 2.50% and ZENITH BANK dipped by 2.29% as the market breadth closed negative, recording 13 gainers and 21 losers. READ: Crude Oil Prices Plunge over Demand Uncertainty
The market sector performance was negative, according to stockbrokers’ notes as four out of the five major market sectors declined.
The banking sector index fell by 0.96% followed by the Oil & Gas sector (-0.83%), the Consumer goods sector (-0.49%), and the Industrial sector (-0.09%). The Insurance sector was the only sector that closed positive today, rose by +0.17%.
Overall, stock market capitalization lost ₦21.36 billion to close at ₦23,971.73 trillion from ₦23,993.09 trillion yesterday.# Market Index Sinks as Sell Pressures Hit Nigerian Bourse
