16 December 2015, Lagos – The Nigerian equities market dipped further on Tuesday as losses by heavy weights such as Dangote Cement Plc, Nigerian Breweries Plc, Guinness Nigeria Plc, Zenith Bank Plc depressed major gauge below 27,000 threshold.
The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All-Share Index (ASI) fell by 0.84 per cent to close at26, 950.76, while market capitalisation shed N78.6 billion to be at N9.27 trillion. The persistent bear run has pushed the market to a three-year low since December 10 2012.
Four of the sector indices recorded losses. The NSE Consumer Goods Index led with a decline of 0.95 per cent. The NSE Banking Index followed with a decline of 0.79 per cent, while the NSE Oil and Gas shed 0.57 per cent. The NSE Industrial Goods Index closed 0.35 per cent lower. On the other hand, the NSE Insurance Index appreciated by 0.35 per cent.
At the close of trading 39 stocks shed weight, while 14 appreciated. The bears were dominated by blue stocks include Nestle Nigeria Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc, United Bank for Africa Plc.
However, Skye Bank Plc led the price losers with 9.5 per cent, trailed by Transcorp Plc 5.2 per cent. Etranzact Plc and Honyewell Flour Mills Plc shed 5.0 per cent apiece, while Northern Nigerian Flour Mills Plc shed 4.9 per cent.
On the other hand, Julius Berger Nigeria Plc led the price gainers with 5.0 per cent, followed by Learn Africa Plc with a gain of 4.9 per cent, while Unilever Nigeria Plc and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc appreciated by 4.8 per cent each. Ecobank Transnational Incorporated and Law Union and Rock Insurance Plc added 4.6 per cent and 4.3 per cent respectively.
Meanwhile, total value of stocks traded on the floors of The NSE today was N3.17 billion, up by 6.55 per cent from N2.97 billion traded the previous day, while the total volume of stocks traded was 189.32 million in 3,265 deals. The three most actively traded stocks were: UBA (20.29 million), Zenith Bank (18.62 million) and Guaranty Trust Bank (18.24million shares).
Market analysts said: “The persistent dip in market performance buttresses the need for investors to stay cautious especially in the short term, even as we consider the current prices attractive for medium to long term investment positioning.”
- This Day