Sell-Offs drag market performance as NSE ASI sheds 1.2%

The equities market extended losses from the previous trading session as the All Share Index (ASI) shed 1.2 per cent to settle at 44,389.85 points while year to date YTD return contracted to 16.1 per cent. Similarly, market capitalisation fell to N15.9 trillion as investors lost N187.3 billion. Profit taking in market bellwethers – DANGCEM (-1.5%), GUARANTY (-2.8%), FBNH (-5.3%) and ZENITH (-2.3%) – as well as mid and small cap stocks dragged performance. Also, activity level declined as volume and value traded fell 83.4 per cent and 51.8 per cent to 737.9 million units and N7.7 billion respectively.

Sector performance was mixed as 3 of 5 indices closed in the red while two trended northwards. The Banking index was the top loser, down 2.6 per cent as GUARANTY (-2.8%), ZENITH (-2.3%) and UBA (-5.0%) declined. Next in line were the Insurance and Industrial Goods indices which lost 2.4 per cent and 0.7 per cent respectively, on the back of price depreciation in MANSARD (-4.8%), LINKASSURE (-8.8%) and DANGCEM (-1.5%). On the flip side, the Consumer Goods index was the top gainer, up 0.7 per cent following gains in PZ (+1.7%), NASCON (+2.5%) and a rebound in NESTLE (+8bps). Similarly, uptick in SEPLAT (+1.5%) drove the Oil & Gas index 0.1 per cent higher.

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) weakened to 0.3x from 1.0x recorded yesterday as 14 stocks advanced against 43 decliners. Today’s best performers were SKYE (+9.9%), CAVERTON (+9.8%) and UNITY (+9.2%) while FIDELITY (-9.2%), AGLEVENT (-9.1%) and LINKASSURE (-8.7%) were the worst performing stocks. Despite losses recorded since the start of the week, we expect sell-offs across sectors to continue in subsequent trading sessions as investors look to book profits following weeks of sustained gains

Market Statistics Tuesday, 23rd January 2018
Market Cap (N’bn)
15,902.6
Market Cap (US$’bn)
51.9
NSE All-Share Index
44,389.85
Daily Performance %
(1.2)
Week Performance %
0.8
YTD Performance %
16.1
Daily Volume (Million)
737.9
Daily Value (N’bn)
7.7
Daily Value (US$’m)
25.1