Stock Market Depreciates by N92bn on Profit-taking in MTN, 24 Others

Kayode Tokede

The Nigerian stock market yesterday opened trading for the new week with a decline of N92 billion on investors’ profit-taking in MTN Nigeria Communications (MTNN) Plc and 24 others.

The Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (NGX ASI) depreciated by 163.32 basis points, or 0.17 per cent to close at 97,582.41 basis points from 97,745.73 basis points the stock market opened for trading this week. 

Consequently, the overall market capitalisation declined by N92 billion to close at N55.405 trillion from N55.497 trillion it closed for trading last week.

Sectoral performance was mixed, as the NGX Consumer Goods Index (+0.9per cent) and NGX Banking Index (+0.2per cent) recorded gains, while the NGX Industrial Goods, NGX Oil & Gas and NGX Insurance indices closed flat.

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment closed negative, as 23 stocks gained relative to 25 losers. International Breweries, Presco and Sovereign Trust Insurance emerged the highest price gainer of 10 per cent each to close at N4.62, N485.10 and 55 kobo respectively, per share.

United Capital and Oando followed with a gain of 9.88 per cent each to close at N13.35 and N27.80 respectively, while Honeywell Flour Mills rose by 9.74 per cent to close at N3.83, per share.

On the other side, Chams Holding Company led the losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at N1.98, per share. University Press followed with a decline of 9.92 per cent to close at N2.18, while The Initiates Plc (TIP) shed 8.26 per cent to close at N2.00, per share.

Omatek Ventures declined by 8.20 per cent to close at 56 kobo, while Champion Breweries dipped by 7.67 per cent to close at N3.01, per share.

The total volume traded increased by 53.63 per cent to 324.02 million units, valued at N6.218 billion, and exchanged in 9,738 deals. Transactions in the shares of Zenith Bank led the activity with 36.993 million shares worth N1.331 billion. United Bank for Africa (UBA) followed with account of 34.974 million shares valued at N708.48 million, while Veritas Kapital Assurance traded 25.506 million shares valued at N23.309 million.

Oando traded 20.282 million shares worth N552.493 million, while Access Holdings traded 18.835 million shares worth N350.503 million.

Looking forward, analysts at United Capital Plc said “the equities market is expected to show mixed performance as investors adopt opportunistic investment strategies. We foresee selective buying of fundamentally strong stocks continuing into the upcoming week.

“Market activity is anticipated to remain elevated due to ongoing banks’ recapitalization efforts, Q2 filings, and corporate actions in the near term.

“Conversely, elevated interest rates in the fixed income market are likely to exert a negative pressure on the equities market as investors capitalize on higher fixed income yields. “

“Overall, fund managers and investors are advised to maintain an opportunistic approach to capitalize on prevailing market opportunities.”