Investor apathy: Nigerian equities market down by 0.79%

Activities on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Thursday maintained a negative slide with the market indices dropping further by 0.79 per cent following continuous profit taking by investors. Market capitalisation lost N77 billion or 0.79 per cent to close at N9.615 trillion compared with N9.692 trillion recorded on Wednesday.

Similarly, the All-Share Index shed 223.89 points or 0.79 per cent to close at 27,997.29 against 28,221.18 achieved on Wednesday. Transactions on the exchange had remained on a negative trend since this week as a result of increased uncertainties in the economy.

Mr Emeka Madubuike, President, Association of Stockbroking Houses of Nigeria (ASHON), attributed the development to weak economic data and projections.

Madubuike said that the weak economic data and general downturn in the global economy led to investors’ apathy in the market.

He also said that foreign exchange challenges and International Monetary Fund (IMF) negative predictions on the nation’s economy contributed to the market trend. He said that the apathy had affected daily turnover volume on the exchange. Nestle recorded the highest price loss to lead the losers’ table, dropping by N15 to close at N835 per share.

Cadbury came second with a loss of 89k to close at N15.20 per share and Guinness declined by 84k to close at N95.95 per share.

Stanbic IBTC dipped 71k to close at N13.49, while Guaranty Trust Bank shed 70k to close at N21 per share. In the same vein, Nigerian Breweries led the gainers’ table, growing by N1.90 to close at N137 per share. CAP followed with a gain of N1 to close at N36 and Tiger Brands gained 8k to close at N3.93 per share. Skye Bank increased by 7k to close at 85k and Wema Bank improved by 5k to close at 78k per share.

Also, the volume of shares traded closed lower as investors bought and sold 227.13 million shares valued at N1.80 billion transacted in 3,426 deals.

This was in contrast with a total of 309.72 million shares worth N2.08 billion exchanged in 3,934 deals on Wednesday.  Skye Bank was the toast of investors, exchanging 54 million shares valued at N45.89 million. United Bank for Africa followed with account of 41.33 million shares worth N182.02 million, and Zenith International traded 21.66 million shares valued at N332.55 million. FBN Holdings sold 15.06 million shares worth N51.95 million and Transcorp traded 13.84 million shares valued at N18.30 million.