Chinwendu Obienyi
Following price depreciation in the shares of GT Bank, Dangote Cement and ETI, transaction proceedings on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), began the week on a negative note.
The development however compressed the All Share Index (ASI) 0.65 per cent as it closed at 26,681.31 points, while market capitalisation lost N84 billion to close at N12.877 trillion. Activity level was mixed as volume traded declined 2.2 per cent to 192.7 million units, while value traded appreciated 0.5 per cent to N3.5 billion in 3,594 deals.
Market breadth remained negative as 28 stocks depreciated in value, while 5 others appreciated. Berger topped the losers’ chart with the 10 per cent to close at N6.75 per share, Cileasing followed with 9.24 per cent to close at N5.40, Niger Insurance fell by 9.09 per cent to close at 0.20 kobo, Cadbury lost 8.59 per cent to close at N9.05 while Meyer declined to 8.47 per cent to close at 0.54 kobo.
On the flipside, Mansard topped the gainers’ chart with 9.09 per cent to close at N1.80 per share. Cornerstone was next with 7.94 per cent to close at 0.68 kobo, Eterna increased with 7.14 per cent to close at N3, NPF Microfinance Bank gained 3.60 per cent to close at N1.15 while Fidelity Bank garnered 0.99 per cent to close at N2.04.The most active stocks by volume were Zenith Bank (24.2 million units), UACN (19.6 million units) and Dangote Cement (12.8 million units) while Dangote Cement (N1.8 billion), Zenith Bank (N450.1 million) and GT Bank (N282.7 million) led by value. Analysts at Afrinvest said, “We maintain our bearish stance for the market, although the current low prices of stocks present opportunities for bargain hunting”.