Equity investors lost N437bn on Monday on the back of sell-offs in some stocks.
The All-Share Index and the market capitalisation of the Nigerian Exchange shed 0.73 per cent and 0.76 per cent to close at 103,659.81 points and N56.72tn, respectively.
Market Breadth, which is the measure of investors’ sentiment, was mixed as reflected in 28 losers and 28 gainers at the close of trading.
The gainers were led by Cadbury, Cornerstone Insurance, Meyer Plc, Daar Communications and May&Baker, which gained 10 per cent each to close at N22, N2.09, N4.73, N0.77 and N6.93.
On the losers’ table were Abbey Mortgage Bank, which lost 9.70 per cent to close at N2.70; Livestock dipped by 9.66 per cent to close trading at N1.87; Fidelity Bank lost 9.38 per cent to close at N11.60, JAIZ Bank’s stock depreciated by 7.93 per cent to close at N2.67 and MTN Nigeria lost 5.52 per cent to close the day’s trading at N274 per unit.
The volume and value drivers of the day’s market trend were led by stocks of FBNHoldings, Nigerian Breweries and Transcorp Plc.
FBNH emerged as the most traded security in terms of volume and value with 332.30 million units worth N8.95bn, changing hands in 767 deals.
Traded volume for the day was lower at 841.55 million units compared to the previous day’s volume of 943.51 million units. The units were valued at N19.32bn and traded in 13,674 deals.
The number of stocks traded stood at 124 at the close of trading.
Performance across the sectoral fronts indicated a mixed bag. The Banking and Consumer Goods indexes declined by 2.30 per cent and 0.03 per cent, respectively while the Insurance and Industrial Indexes increased by 2.67 per cent and 0.01 per cent, and the Oil/Gas sector stayed flat.
On the outlook for the week, analysts at Cowry Research anticipated a positive trend in the market.
“However, we foresee a mixed trend with a possibility of profit-taking as investors are likely to continue sectoral rotation, capitalising on stocks that experience pullbacks to position themselves strategically.
“This rotation strategy is expected to create further buying opportunities, especially in anticipation of more earning releases in the corporate reporting season,” the weekly report said.
SOURCE: PUNCHNG
