Equites Opens Week With N750bn Dip

To open the week, the Nigerian equities market yesterday lost N750 billion following sell pressures on Dangote Cement Plc and 16 others.

The All-Share Index (ASI) shed 1,320.52 points, representing a decline of 1.36 per cent to close at 95,779.79 points, the lowest point since January 22, 2024. Also, market capitalisation dipped by N750 billion to close at N54.382 trillion.

The downturn was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks amongst which are; Dangote Cement, Beta Glass, Dangote Sugar Refinery, Nigerian Breweries and Africa Prudential.

Looking forward, United Capital Plc said “the equities market is expected to show mixed performance as investors adopt opportunistic investment strategies. We foresee selective buying of fundamentally strong stocks continuing into the week.

“Market activity is anticipated to rise due to ongoing banks’ recapitalization efforts and anticipated corporate actions in the near term.

Conversely, elevated interest rates in the fixed income market are likely to exert a negative pressure on the equities market as investors capitalise on higher fixed income yields. Overall, fund managers and investors are advised to maintain an opportunistic approach to capitalise on prevailing market opportunities.”

However, market breadth closed positive, as 31 stocks gained relative to 17 losers. Skyway Aviation Handling Company, Cutix and R. T. Briscoe Nigeria emerged the highest price gainer of 10 per cent each to close at N26.40, N2.64 and N1.87 respectively, per share. Oando followed with a gain of 9.90 per cent to close at N39.40, while FTN Cocoa Processors appreciated by 9.57 per cent to close at N2.06, per share.

On the other side, Dangote Cement led others on the losers’ chart with 10 per cent to close at N532.00, per share. Secure Electronic Technology followed with a decline of 9.76 per cent to close at 37 kobo, while Africa Prudential declined by 9.68 per cent to close at N8.40, per share.

Beta Glass lost 9.43 per cent to close at N48.00, while Caverton Offshore Support Group depreciated by 6.38 per cent to close at N1.32, per share.

The total volume traded increased by 916.19 per cent to 3.546 billion units, valued at N7.649 billion, and exchanged in 9,291deals. Transactions in the shares of Standard Alliance Insurance led the activity with 3.141 billion shares worth N31.408 million. Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO) followed  with 59.255 million shares valued at N2.728 billion, while Wema Bank traded 25.351 million shares valued at N155.065 million.

Access Holdings traded 24.697 million shares worth N471.224 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 23.360 million shares worth N529.571 million.