By Chinwendu Obienyi
Transactions at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) opened on a sour note as price depreciation in Flourmill, Wapco and Zenith Bank pushed the market fundamentals in red zone.
This however forced the All Share Index (ASI)down 0.04 per cent to 39,505.40 points while investors lost N9 billion as market capitalisation dropped to N20.582 trillion.
Consequently, the market’s year-to-date (YTD) loss worsened to -1.9 per cent.
Trading activity further declined as the volume and value of stocks traded fell by 25.1 and 49.2 per cent respectively to 141.28 million units and N1.63 billion, exchanged in 3,393 deals.
However, 25 stocks appreciated in value while 15 stocks depreciated.
SFSREIT topped the gainers’ chart with 9.96 per cent to close at N67.90 per cent, while MRS followed with 9.92 per cent to close at N13.85. May&Baker price rose 9.77 per cent to close at N4.83, as Honeywell appreciated 9.76 per cent to close at N2.25 while Mutual Benefits garnered 8.82 per cent to close at 0.87 kobo.
Conversely, ABC Transport topped the loser’s chart with 8.33 per cent to close at 0.33 kobo. Lasaco was next with 6.67 per cent to close at N1.40, Livestock feeds lost 4.81 per cent to close at N1.98, Fidelity Bank dropped 4.80 per cent to close at N2.38 while Champion Breweries fell by 4.55 per cent to close at N2.10.
The most traded stocks by volume were E-tranzact (16.2 million units), Fidelity Bank (10.4 million units), and Transcorp (9.8 million units) while Nestle (N492.0 million), MTNN (N296.1 million), and Zenith Bank (N130.5 million) led by value.
Commenting on the market trends, Afrinvest said, “In the next trading session, we expect market sentiment to remain mixed as earnings season gradually winds up”.