Stocks Tumble as New Naira Notes Scarcity Stokes Unrest
Amidst scarcity of the new naira notes, trading activities on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange turned red after gaining streaks. Nigerian stocks had maintained upbeat as investors positioned in value stocks amidst earnings releases.
However, the market experienced a reversal as Nigerian currency scarcity stoked unrest across the nation, ahead of 2023 election. Some banks have short down operations in their branches that cannot serve customers request for cash.
Data show that equities market capitalisation, which opened at N29.612 trillion, shed N37 billion to close at N29.575 trillion.
Also, the All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 67.98 points or 0.13 per cent to close at 54,299.76 against 54,367.74 recorded on Monday.
Consequently, the ASI’s year-to-date (YTD) return decreased to 5.95 per cent. The downturn was due to selloffs in stocks of industrial giant, Dangote Cement and losses in Zenith Bank and Access Holdings.
Sovereign Trust Insurance recorded the highest gain to lead the gainers table, growing by 10 per cent to close at 33k per share. Linkage Assurance rose by 8.89 per cent to close at 49k, while International Energy Insurance gained by 8.08 per cent to close at N1.07 per share.
Industrial & Medical Gases appreciated by 4.55 per cent to close at N8.05 and Courteville Business Solutions increased by 4.08 per cent to close at 51k per share.
Conversely, McNichols led the losers’ chart, dropping by 8.96 per cent to close at 61k per share.
Prestige Insurance declined by 8.70 per cent to close at 42k and FTN Cocoa Processors dropped by 6.06 per cent to close at 31k per share.
Sunu Assurances fell by 5.88 per cent to close at 32k per share. Similarly, the volume of shares traded depreciated by 58.84 per cent with an exchange of 200.04 million shares worth N7.62 billion exchanged in 4,380 deals.
A breakdown of the activity chart showed that Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) was investors’ delight, accounting for 50.89 million shares worth N127 billion.
It was trailed by Zenith Bank with 18.02 million shares valued at N452.44 million, while Chams sold 16.62 million shares worth N4.45 million. United Bank for Africa (UBA) transacted 14.94 million shares valued at N125.39 million and Transcorp traded 14.17 million shares worth N18.79 million. #Stocks Tumble as New Naira Notes Scarcity Stokes Unrest
