Equities market records 5 weeks low trend, 2.42% Wow

For the fifth consecutive trading week, metrics of traded equities continued on a decline, as The NSE All-Share Index (ASI), Market Capitalisation, total volume and total value of equities traded all depreciated.

The ASI and Market Capitalisation both dropped this week by 2.42 percent to close at 25,537.54 points and N8.791 trillion respectively with the Year-to-Date return at 10.8 percent.

Similarly, turnover declined to 823.547 million shares from 2.847 billion shares transacted previous week.

According to market analysts at Cordros, last week’s performance was very disappointing, as trading closed negative in all five sessions.

“Once again, decline in the shares of high-capped stocks across consumer goods, cement, oil & gas and banking sectors was responsible for the huge loss,” the Cordros weekly report said.

Total value for the week exchanged in 11,634 deals stood at N5.444 billion in contrast to N7.420 billion obtained previously in 16,065 deals.

The sector indices also finished lower during the week with the exception of the NSE Insurance Index that appreciated by 0.49 percent while the NSE ASeM Index closed flat

As expected, the Financial Services Industry (measured by volume) led the activity chart with 616.999 million shares valued at N2.667 billion traded in 6,142 deals; thus contributing 74.92 percent and 49.00 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

The Conglomerates Industry followed with 47.741 million shares worth N43.735 million in 510 deals.

The third place was occupied by the Consumer Goods Industry with a turnover of 42.674 million shares worth N1.735 billion in 2,112 deals.

Trading in the Top Three Equities by volume were, Standard Alliance Insurance Plc, Diamond Bank Plc and FBN Holdings Plc. They accounted for 219.392 million shares worth N288.220 million in 1,026 deals, contributing 26.64 percent and 5.29 percent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

In the course of the week, May & Baker Nigeria led nine other equities that appreciated in price lower than eighteen equities of the previous week. Forty-eight equities led by Forte Oil depreciated in price, higher than thirty-six (36) equities of the previous week, while one hundred and twenty-three (123) equities remained unchanged lower than one hundred and twenty-seven (127) equities recorded in the preceding week.

Also traded during the week were a total of 60 units of Exchange Traded Products (ETPs) valued at N537.00 executed in 11 deals, compared with a total of 5,080 units valued at N62,550.75 transacted last week in 17 deals.

A total of 6,871 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N5.990 million were traded in 8 deals compared to a total of 73,694 units of Federal Government Bonds valued at N80.177 million transacted last week in 9 deals.

Analyst, however, see no end to the persistent lull in the Nigerian equities market as they predict further lose in the beginning of the week but a lift towards the end of the week.

According to analysts at Afrinvest, the pronouncement from the quarterly Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), scheduled for Monday and Tuesday, would be major drivers of the equities market in the week