The bearish performance of the local bourse was extended into the second consecutive session as sell pressures in bellwethers – NESTLE (-4.1%), DANGCEM (-0.6%), and ZENITH (-2.4%) dragged the benchmark index 0.9% lower to 37,606.23 points while YTD return fell to -1.7%.
Accordingly, investors lost N123.8bn in value as market capitalisation decreased to N13.6tn. However, activity level strengthened as volume and value traded rose 4.2% and 43.1% to 254.8m units and N2.6bn respectively.
The top traded stocks by volume were MULTIVERSE (100.0m), ZENITH (16.5m) and GUARANTY (13.0m) while GUARANTY (N515.9m), DANGCEM (N481.3m) and ZENITH (N403.3m) were the top traded stocks by value.
Insurance Sector Emerges Lone Gainer
Across sectors, performance was largely bearish as 4 of 5 indices under our watch closed in the red. The Industrial Goods index led laggards, down 1.5% as investors booked profit in DANGCEM (-0.6%) and WAPCO (-3.7%).
The Banking index trailed, down 1.3%, following sell-pressures in ZENITH (-2.4%) and GUARANTY (-1.0%). In the same vein, losses in MOBIL (-5.0%), NESTLE (-4.1%) and DANGSUGAR (-0.6%) dragged the Oil & Gas and Consumer Goods indices 1.2% and 1.1% lower respectively. On the flip side, the Insurance index was the lone gainer for the day, rising 0.6% on the back of buying interest in CUSTODIAN (+8.6%) and NEM (+4.6%).
Investors’ Sentiment Softens
Investors’ sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) softened to 0.5x from 0.8x recorded in the preceding session as 13 stocks advanced against 28 that declined. Yesterday’s top performing stocks were PRESTIGE (+9.4%), ROYALEX (+9.1%) and REDSTAREX (+8.3%) while JAIZBANK (-10.0%), CORNERST (-9.4%) and MAYBAKER (-8.9%) were the worst performers.
‘In line with our expectation, market performance was bearish today and we expect this to be sustained in subsequent sessions as investor sentiment stays soft. However, we do not rule out the possibility of some end of the week bargain hunting as investors take advantage of attractive market prices.’
