Equities sustain losses, shed N78bn

Selling pressure outweighed bargain hunting on the equities segment of the Nigerian Stock Market on Tuesday, causing market indicators to close lower.

With the exception of the NSE Alternative Securities Market Index, which closed flat, all market indicators were down on Tuesday, a day after equities shed N209bn as investors reacted negatively to the postponement on general elections.

The market capitalisation of the listed equities, for instance, fell by N78bn or 0.79 per cent to N9.718tn, while the NSE All-Share Index declined by 234.86 basis points or 0.79 per cent from 29,360.55 basis points to 29,125.69 basis points.

Of the other indicators, the NSE Oil and Gas Index was the worst hit. It fell by 1.9 per cent to close at 357.27 basis points.

The NSE Banking Index was down by 1.37 per cent to 296.68 basis points, while the Consumer Goods Index shed one per cent to close at 746.31 basis points.

The NSE 30 Index depreciated by 0.95 per cent to 1,304.95 per cent, while the NSE Lotus Islamic Index lost 0.3 per cent to close at 1,972.00 basis points.

Also down were the NSE Insurance Index and the NSE Industrial Index. The insurance index shed 0.28 per cent to close at 140.57 basis points, while the industrial index fell by 0.14 per cent to close at 1,943.79 basis points.

Nine equities recorded price appreciation on Tuesday with 25 others declining, compared with eight gainers and 36 losers the previous day.

Honeywell Flour Mills was the biggest gainer, rising by 4.46 per cent to close at N3.28 per share.

It was followed by Trans-nationwide Express Plc and Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, which rose by 4.40 per cent and 3.9 per cent to close at 95 kobo and N7.15 per share, respectively.

The National Salt Company of Nigeria Plc led the losers, shedding 9.40 per cent to close at N6.84 per share.

Forte Oil Plc followed with a five per cent or N11.02 loss, which saw it close at N209.48 per share.

International Breweries Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc were down by 4.99 per cent and 4.98 per cent to close at N19.41 and N19.29 per share, respectively.

Fidelity Bank Plc and Ashaka Cement Plc declined by 4.96 per cent and 4.94 per cent to close at N1.15 and N19.24 per share in that order.

Dangote Cement Plc and Nigerian Breweries Plc, the most capitalised stocks on the Exchange, were also among the losers.