Nestle, Dangote Cement lead 0.3 per cent market loss

Following selloff in many highly capitalised stocks, especially Nestle and Dangote Cement, Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) sustained its negative sentiments yesterday, causing the all-share index (ASI) to dip further by 0.3 per cent.

Yesterday, the ASI declined by 204.17 per cent, representing a decline of 0.3 per cent, to close at 68,082.11 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation value lost N112 billion to close at N37.262 trillion.

The market negative performance was driven by price depreciation in large and medium capitalised stocks which are Nestle Nigeria, Dangote Cement, NASCON Allied Industries, Dangote Sugar Refinery and Eterna.

On market outlook, analysts at Afrinvest Limited said: “We anticipate a reversal in the bearish performance as investors position for bargain hunting opportunities.”

Analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “WTD return currently at 0.82 per cent. In the absence of any significant declines tomorrow, we expect another positive weekly close.”

Also, the market breadth closed negative as 26 stocks gained relative to 30 decliners. Beta Glass recorded the highest price gain of 9.97 per cent to close at N51.85 kobo.

Cadbury Nigeria followed with a gain of 9.86 per cent to close at N15.6 and CWG up by 9.81 per cent to close at N5.26 kobo. Tantalizers rose by 9.52 per cent to close at 46 kobo, while Guinea Insurance gained 9.09 per cent to close at 36 kobo.

On the other hand, Morison Industries led the losers’ chart by 9.89 per cent to close at N2.55 kobo. Courteville Business Solutions followed with a decline of 7.69 per cent to close at 69 kobo while NASCON Allied Industries lost 6.83 per cent to close at N56.60 kobo. R.T. Briscoe Nigeria declined 6.82 per cent to close at 41 kobo. Wema Bank shed 6.42 per cent to close at N5.10 kobo.

The total volume traded fell by 0.15 per cent to 378.089 million units, valued at N8.376 billion, and exchanged in 8,106 deals. Transactions in the shares of Oando topped the activity chart with 91.635 million shares valued at N678.966 million.

Omatek Ventures followed with 29.973 million shares worth N19.207 million, while Dangote Sugar Refinery traded 23.394 million shares valued at N1.484 billion.

Fidelity Bank traded 22.166 million shares valued at N193.577 million, while Access Holdings transacted 20.804 million shares worth N361.865 million.