Equities Market Drops 0.48% as Sell Pressure Persists

By Modupe Gbadeyanka

Trading of equities on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) resumed on Monday, however, bears still maintained their dominance at the market.

At the close of business today, the stock market went down by 0.48 percent as sell pressure mounts, leaving the year-to-date return at 35.49 percent.

The All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated on Monday by 175.58 points to close at 36,411.73 points, while the market capitalisation declined by N60.4 billion to settle at N12.5 trillion.

But despite the bearish sentiment today, the volume and value of shares traded by investors appreciated with 253.5 million shares transacted in 3,609 deals worth N2.7 billion, in contrast to 106.6 million units exchanged 3,193 deals valued at N1.9 billion.

Access Bank emerged the most traded stock by volume, exchanging 68.7 million shares worth N653.6 million.

It was trailed by FBN Holdings, which transacted 27.3 million shares valued at N163.6 million, and Transcorp, which sold 26 million shares for N37.8 million.

Fidelity Bank traded 24 million shares at N35.8 million, while Zenith Bank exchanged 13.7 million shares at N340.7 million.

On the price movement chart, Lafarge went down by N5.46k to close at N50.54k per share, while Nigerian Breweries lost N3.1k to settle at N157 per share.

Presco fell by N3 to finish at N65 per share, Zenith Bank depreciated by 89k to end at N25.10k per share, and Guinness Nigeria declined by 65k to close at N100.35k per share.

At the other end, International Breweries topped the gainers’ log after growing by N5.22k to close at N56.23k per share.

It was followed by Flour Mills of Nigeria, which rose by 80k to end at N30 per share, and UAC Nigeria appreciated by 78k to finish at N16.89k per share.

Access Bank advanced by 30k to close at N9.80k per share, while Red Star Express grew by 23k to settle at N4.98k per share.