Chinwendu Obienyi
Price depreciation in the shares of GT Bank, Zenith and Access Bank, transactions on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) ended Tuesday in red as its benchmark index slipped down by 0.36 per cent to close at 24,117.40 points.
The All Share Index (ASI) fell 0.44 per cent on Monday with analysts predicting that bargain hunting would be the theme for this week’s trading sessions. But, at the close of trading, investors lost about N45 billion even as market capitalisation closed at N12.579 trillion.
This means that investors lost a total of N100 billion in two trading sessions, while year-to-date (ytd) loss stoodstands at -10.2 per cent. Furthermore, activity level at the nation’s bourse waned as the volume and value of stocks traded declined by 10 per cent and 50.9 per cent to 208.2 million units and N1.1 billion respectively, exchanged 4,174 deals.
Reacting to the performance of the market, analysts at Afrinvest said, “We continue to see sell pressures dominate the market as investor sentiment remains weak. Hence, we expect a mixed performance for the week”.
Meanwhile, sentiments towards stocks remained negative as 15 equities depreciated in value while 8 others appreciated. Arbico topped the losers’ chart with 9.94 per cent to close at N1.54 per share, Glaxosmithkline followed with a loss of 9.38 per cent to close at N4.38, ABC Transport dropped 9.09 per cent to close at 0.50 kobo, Sterling Bank lost 4.72 per cent to close at N1.21 while Africa Prudential lost 4.24 per cent to close at N4.07.
On the other hand, Unilever topped the gainers’ chart with 9.64 per cent to close at N13.65 per share. Chams was next with 4.55 per cent to close at 0.23 kobo, Regal Insurance gained 4.55 per cent to close at 0.23 kobo, Japaul oil rose by 4.17 per cent to close at 0.25 kobo while Jaiz Bank garnered 3.70 per cent to close at 0.56 kobo.