Equities Market Opens September Trading With N362bn Loss

Trading activities in the domestic equities market yesterday lost N362 billion to start September trading on a negative note, following share price depreciation in Lafarge Africa Plc and 32 others.

The All-Share Index (ASI) shed 573.31 points, representing a decline of 0.41 per cent to close at 139,722.19 points. Also, market capitalisation depreciated by N362 billion to close at N88.407 trillion.

The downturn was driven by price depreciation in large and medium-capitalised stocks, including Lafarge Africa, Eterna, Oando, Zenith Bank, and Ellah Lakes.

On market outlook, Coronation Merchant Bank said, “We expect trading to stay mixed as investors balance profit taking with selective positioning in fundamentally strong names. With most companies having released results, attention is shifting to anticipated banking sector earnings in the coming days, which could set the tone for market sentiment.”

Market sentiment remained weak, evidenced by a negative breadth, with 15 stocks advancing against 33 decliners. Sovereign Trust Insurance emerged the highest price gainer, 10 per cent to close at N2.86 per share. SCOA Nigeria followed with a gain of 9.83 per cent to close at N6.59, while Cornerstone Insurance rose by 7.98 per cent to close at N6.90 per share.

Guinea Insurance appreciated by 7.75 per cent to close at N1.53, while Secure Electronic Technology gained 4.71 per cent to close at 89 kobo, per share.

On the other side, Ellah Lakes, Eterna and Veritas Kapital Assurance led others on the losers’ chart with 10 per cent each to close at N12.69, N34.20 and N1.89 per share.

Chams Holding Company followed with a decline of 9.56 per cent to close at N2.65, while Cutix shed 7.71 per cent to close at N3.23, per share.

The total volume traded decreased by 6.24 per cent to 407.975 million units, valued at N14.777 billion, and exchanged in 33,859 deals. Transactions in the shares of FCMB Group led the activity with 55.842 million shares worth N601.688 million. Access Holdings followed with an account of 31.946 million shares valued at N843.017 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 26.154 million shares valued at N547.922 million.

Secure Electronic Technology traded 22.358 million shares worth N19.518 million, while AIICO Insurance traded 17.724 million shares worth N70.471 million.