Profit-taking in Nestle Niger, FBN Holdings down stock market by N12bn
By Kayode Tokede
The equities market of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Wednesday closed on a negative note, bringing the five consecutive gaining streaks to an end with a decline of N12 billion.
The bearish sentiment was a result of the investors’ profit-taking in Nestle Nigeria, FBN Holdings (FBNH) and 13 others.
In summary, the All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 25.53 basis points, representing a decrease of 0.06 per cent, to close at 41,789.59 basis points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value lost N12 billion to close at N21.809 trillion.
Sector performances were positive on Wednesday with the Oil and Gas (+1.70 per cent), Banking (+0.51 per cent,), and Industrial (+0.05 per cent,) sectors closing northwards while the Consumer goods sector closed flat.
The market negative performance was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are Nestle Nigeria, FBNH, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria (Glaxosmith), Transcorp Hotels and Custodian Investment.
However, the market breadth closed positive, recording 24 gainers as against 15 losers. LivingTrust Mortgage Bank recorded the highest price gain of 9.59 per cent to close at 80 kobo, per share.
AIICO Insurance followed with a gain of 9.57 per cent to close at N1.03 and university Press went up 9.09 per cent to close at N1.80, per share.
Red Star Express up by 6.25 per cent to close at N3.40, while Total Nigeria appreciated by 5.97 per cent to close at N220.00, per share.
On the other hand, Glaxosmith led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N6.30, per share. Transcorp Hotels followed with a decline of 9.88 per cent to close at N5.38, while FBN Holdings (FBNH) lost 6.05 per cent to close at N11.65, per share.
Veritas Kapital Assurance declined 4.35 per cent to close at 22 kobo, while Africa Prudential shed 3.94 per cent to close at N6.10, per share.
The total volume of trades declined by 19.43 per cent to 284.601 million units, valued at N3.203 billion, and exchanged in 5,036 deals. Transactions in the shares of FBNH topped the activity chart with 75.459 million shares valued at N898.013 million. AIICO Insurance followed with 18.418 million shares worth N17.810 million, while Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI) traded 17.320 million shares valued at N137.322 million.
Transnational Corporation of Nigeria (Transcorp) traded 15.207 million shares valued at N15.492 million, while Fidelity Bank transacted 14.029 million shares worth N38.525 million.
Analysts at Investment One research said, “The equities market closed negative despite the gains recorded in most sectors.
“Going forward, we expect investor’s sentiments 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.”
