Equities market fell by 0.03%, as NGX-ASI settled at 68,335.72pts
Sentiments in the domestic equities market on Wednesday turned negative, as profit-taking activities witnessed in Transcorp Hotel Plc and 28 others caused a 0.03 per cent drop in Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index.
The NGX ASI declined by 23.50 basis points or 0.03 per cent, to close at 68,335.72 basis points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value lost N12 billion to close at N37.401 trillion.
Sectoral performance was neutral as the NGX Oil and Gas (+0.49 per cent) and NGX Industrial (+0.02 per cent) sectors closed buoyant while the NGX Banking (-1.00 per cent) and NGX Consumer Goods (-0.38 per cent) sectors closed downwards.
The market negative performance was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are; Transcorp Hotel, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Glaxo Smithkline Consumer Nigeria, NASCON Allied Industries and Nigerian Exchange Group.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative, as 29 stocks lost relative to 27 gainers. SUNU Assurance recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent to close at 88 kobo, while Berger Paints followed with a gain of 9.91 per cent to close at N12.75, per share.
Chams Holding Company and Oando appreciated by 9.77 per cent each to close at N1.46 and N14.60 respectively, while MRS Oil Nigeria rose by 9.47 per cent to close at N104.00, per share.
On the other hand, Transcorp Hotel led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N45.90, per share. Ikeja Hotel followed with a decline of 9.93 per cent to close at N2.72, while Consolidated Hallmark Insurance lost 7.41 per cent to close at N1.00, per share.
Secure Electronic Technology lost 7.41 per cent to close at 25 kobo, while GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria depreciated by 7.38 per cent to close at N11.30, per share.
The total volume traded declined by 17.4 per cent to 559.06 million units, valued at N5.25 billion, and exchanged in 8,068 deals. Transactions in the shares of Oando topped the activity chart with 109.996 million shares valued at N1.599 billion. Courteville Business Solutions followed with 66.002 million shares worth N32.570 million, while Chams Holding Company traded 56.388 million shares valued at N81.804 million.
Japaul Gold & Ventures traded 36.630 million shares valued at N35.249 million, while Access Holdings transacted 32.531 million shares worth N563.306 million.
Analysts at InvestmentOne Research said, “The Nigerian equities market recorded an uptick performance today on the back of bullish sentiments around the Consumer Goods and Industrial sectors.
“Going forward, we expect investor’s sentiment to be swayed by the search for real positive returns and developments in the interest rate space. We reiterate that this may be a great period to pick up some quality names with a medium to long-term investment horizon.”
