WAPCO, Heavyweight Banking Names Soften Stock Market Rally
Stock market plunged by ₦2 billion Thursday after cumulatively returning a whopping 5.4% in the last three consecutive sessions.
The benchmark index backpedaled slightly today as investors took profit, amid a thinly traded session.
Today’s loss was mostly driven by WAPCO (-4.76%) and some tier 1 heavyweight banking names as market capitalisation similarly declined to N20.279 trillion.
Precisely, the NSE ASI dipped narrowly by 1 basis point to 38,800.01points, the first loss in eight straight sessions.
Against that backdrop, year to date return decline slightly to 44.55%, albeit still ahead of the 2017 market return of 42.3%.
The blend of FTN Cocoa Processors Plc (+9.88% to N0.89), LASACO Assurance Plc (+9.68% to N0.34), and Skyway Aviation Handling Co Plc (+9.22% to N3.20) were today’s top gaining stocks.
Meanwhile, Champion Breweries Plc (-7.87% to N0.82), Jaiz Bank Plc (-4.76% to N0.60), and Lafarge Africa Plc (-4.76% to N21.00) were today’s top losers.
Chapel Hill Denham said performance across its coverage universe was mixed, albeit with a bullish tilt.
Precisely 2 of 5 of its coverage indices closed in the red.
The NSE banking (-22bps) and NSE industrial goods (-28bps) indices closed negative, owing to the sell-offs on GUARANTY (-0.61%), UBA (-0.59%), and WAPCO stocks.
In fact, these were significant enough to completely offset gains across the NSE consumer goods (+26bps), NSE insurance (+213bps), and NSE Oil & gas (+95bps) indices.
The market’s activity was broadly weak, with volume traded declining by 73.97% to 389mn, while value traded also dipped by 57.52% to N7.965bn.
Today’s most traded stocks by volume were Zenith Bank Plc (84.43mn units), Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (59.18mn units), and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (56.16mn units).
On the other hand, the top traded stocks by value are Zenith Bank Plc (N2.129bn), Guaranty Trust Bank Plc (1.941bn), and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc (N1.571bn).
Elsewhere, the Chapel Hill Denham’s Paramount Equity Fund (PEF) and the Women Investment Fund (WIF) closed largely flat, respectively.
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“We are optimistic about a sustained positive run in the upcoming trading week”, Afrinvest stated.
WAPCO, Heavyweight Banking Names Soften Stock Market Rally
