Equities investors lose N293.4bn on profit taking

Negative sentiment persisted at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) on Tuesday as equities investors continued to book profits leaving the All Share Index (ASI) lower by 0.80 per cent to close at 66,760.20 basis points.

Specifically, tickers such as eTranzact, Nascon, Dangote Sugar, Access Holdings, Zenith Bank, Nestle Nigeria, MTN Nigeria Communication and Guaranty Trust Holding Company fell by 10.00 per cent, 9.96 per cent, 9.96 per cent, 4.06 per cent, 3.45 per cent, 2.38 per cent, 1.53 per cent, and 1.41 per cent, respectively, as investors booked profits.

Thus, the Month-To-Date (MTD) and Year-To-Date (YTD) gains moderated to +0.3 per cent and +30.3 per cent, respectively

Owing to the bearish outing at the local bourse on Tuesday, equities investors further lost N293.35 billion cumulatively as the market capitalization settled at N36.54 trillion at the end of the day’s trading sessions.

As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative, as 45 tickers lost relative to 16 gainers. On the performance board, Regal Insurance and e-Tranzact topped the losers’ list after their respective share prices dipped by 10.0 per cent, while Chellaram and CWG recorded the most significant gains of the day having appreciated in share prices by 10.0 per cent, respectively.

Sectorial performance was weak as three of the five indices tracked closed in the red zone: the NGX Banking, NGX Insurance, and NGX Consumer Goods indices fell by 2.60 per cent, 2.31 per cent, and 1.72 per cent, respectively. On the other hand, the NGX Oil/Gas index closed flat, while the NGX Industrial index rose by 0.03 per cent.

However, activities at NGX was robust as analysis of market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 32.16 per cent. A total of 645.54 million shares valued at N11.01 billion were exchanged in 10,554 deals.

Transnational Corporation led the volume chart with 87.82 million units traded while Guaranty Trust Holding Company led the value chart in deals worth N1.33 billion.

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