Bears persists at NGX as investors lose N68.5m

At the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Wednesday, equities trading maintained bears for the second straight day driven by waning investor sentiment in some mid-to-large cap companies as investors continue to digest the rate hike by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and its potential impact on the market, particularly within the banking and consumer goods sectors, despite positive market internals.

The All Share Index (NGX) slipped by 0.12 percent to close at 100,365.17 basis points, reflecting sell-pressure in the market.

Sequentially, the Month-to-Date (MTD) and Year-to-Date (YTD) returns moderated to +0.3 percent and +34.4 percent, respectively.

Additionally, the market capitalisation of traded equities nosedived by 0.12 percent to N56.83 trillion, resulting in a loss of N68.5 billion for equity investors.

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative, as 21 tickers lost relative to 15 gainers.

At the end of trading, the top gainers included International Breweries, Sovereign Insurance, Deap Capital Management and Trust, The Initiates and First City Monument Bank with stock appreciation by 10.00 percent, 10.00 percent, 9.80 percent, 7.50 percent, and 5.26 percent, respectively.

On the other hand, the top decliners were Secure Electronic Technology, RTBriscoe, United Bank for Africa, LiveStock and United Capital with respective 9.43 percent, 8.22 percent, 5.07 percent, 4.56 percent and 4.27 percent dip in their share value.

Sectoral performance was mixed, as two sectors gained, two lost, and one remained flat compared to the previous day. The oil and gas sector remained muted.

However, the banking and consumer goods sectors were the laggards for the day, with losses of 0.82 percent and 0.22 percent, respectively, as investors dumped stocks like United Bank for Africa, Dangote, NASCON, and Access Holdings.

In contrast, the insurance and industrial goods sectors reported some gains of 0.38 percent and 0.03 percent, respectively, due to positive movements in Lafarge Africa and Prestige Insurance.

At midweek, market breadth was upbeat, driven by high-traded volumes and value. The daily average volume spiked by 77.22 percent to 497.8 million units, with the total number of deals for the day advancing marginally by 0.11 percent to 8,412 trades. Elsewhere, the traded value increased by 137.35 percent to N8.61 billion.

First City Monument Bank emerged as the most traded security by volume with 133.92 million units worth N1.04 billion in a total of 160 deals, while Zenith Bank was the most traded security by value at N2.19 billion in just 762 trades, following its rights issues qualification date announcement.

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