Bears on rampage as market capitalisation dips further  

The bears at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) continued to dominate trading for the fifth trading days in 2019 with the crucial market indicators declining further by 1.20 per cent.

Specifically, the All-Share Index, which opened at 30,400.28, shed 364.13 points or 1.20 per cent to close at 30,400.28 recorded on Monday.

Similarly, the market capitalisation lost N136 billion or 1.20 per cent to close at N11.200 trillion compared with N11.336 trillion achieved on Monday.

Analysts at Cordros Capital reiterated that equities market would remain on a negative outlook in the short to medium term. “We reiterate our negative outlook for the equities market in the short to medium term, amidst political concerns ahead of the 2019 elections, and the absence of a positive market trigger.

“However, positive macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of recovery in the long term,” they said.

A breakdown of the price movement table indicates that 28 stocks recorded price depreciation, while 12 equities posted price appreciation.

Forte Oil led the laggards’ table with a loss of N2.30 to close at N26.55 per share. Presco trailed with N2 to close at N62, while Guaranty Trust Bank declined by N1.85 to close at N32 per share.

Flour Mills was down by N1.70 to close at N18, while Zenith Bank dipped N1 to close at N20.30 per share.

On the other hand, Okomu Oil Palm led the gainers’ table, gaining N6.15 to close at N83.75 per share. Nigerian Breweries followed with a gain of 40k to close at N78.90, while Lafarge Africa added 35k to close at N11.70 per share.

Union Bank of Nigeria increased by 20k to close at N6, while Julius Berger grew by 20k to close at N23.50 per share.

The banking equities dominated the activity chart with Zenith Bank as the most active stock, exchanging 32.84 million shares worth N679.77 million.

FBN Holdings followed with an account of 27.64 million shares valued at N199.30 million, while Transcorp traded 26.37 million shares worth N31.15 million.

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Guaranty Trust Bank exchanged 18.69 million shares valued at N608.01 million, while Diamond Bank sold 14.91 million shares worth N28.22 million.

In all, a total of 216.45 million shares valued at N2.67 billion were exchanged by investors in 4,508 deals.

This was in contrast with 222.58 million shares worth N3.34 billion traded in 3,746 deals on Monday.