Equities investors lose N5.7bn as ASI dips marginally by 0.01%

Equities trading at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) maintained its bearish trend today, with the ASI dipping 0.01 percent to 97,477.19 basis points. The equities market on Thursday traded with mixed sentiments, as the selling pressures on United Bank for Africa and Fidelity Bank offset investors’ interest in Oando and Guaranty Trust Holding Company.

As a result, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns remained unchanged at -1.1 percent and +30.4 percent, respectively. This marginal decline recorded on Thursday also led to a 0.01 percent reduction in market capitalization, closing at N56.01 trillion and resulting in a N5.7 billion loss for investors amid sell-offs.

Despite the negative sentiment, 23 stocks gained, outpacing 22 decliners. On the performance board, the top gainers included Regal Insurance, Caverton Offshore Support Group, Royal Exchange, Associated Bus Company, and University Press, as these appreciated in share value by 10.00 percent, 9.73 percent, 8.70 percent, 8.20 percent, and 7.14 percent, respectively.

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On the losing side, Daar Communication, Livestock Feeds, Sunu Assurance Nigeria, Fidson Healthcare, and Consolidated Hallmark Holdings saw their share prices drop by 10.00 percent, 9.88 percent, 9.71 percent, 9.71 percent, and 9.29 percent, respectively.

Sectoral performance was largely negative, with declines of 0.22 percent, 0.05 percent, and 0.13 percent in the banking, consumer goods, and oil/gas sectors, while the insurance and industrial goods sectors remained unchanged.

The overall bearish sentiment dampened trading activity, with the number of deals, volume, and value decreasing by 17.37 percent, 22.01 percent, and 33.07 percent, respectively, resulting in 277.75 million shares worth N4.65 billion traded across 7,091 deals. Fidelity Bank led by volume, with 43.3 million units worth N644.8 million exchanged across 190 deals, while Zenith Bank was the top stock by value.