Equities investors lose N95bn as Tier-1 Banks face selloffs

Nigerian Exchange (NGX) lost about N95 billion on Monday due to investors’ negative sentiment in Tier-1 banks, insurance stocks and Nigerian Breweries, among other decliners. The local bourse opened the week on a negative note, as losses in banking names such as UBA (-4.3%), GTCO (-2.0%), ZENITHBANK (-2.5%) and ACCESSCORP (-5.4%) drove the benchmark index lower. The stock market year-to-date returns moderated to +51.1%, respectively, while the NGX All-Share Index fell by 148.90 basis points to close at 155,496.15 in reaction to negative price movements. Stock market capitalisation lost ₦94.53 billion to close at ₦98.70 trillion.
Trading activity was uneven as volume plunged 58.49% to 503 million shares and value dropped 20.78% to ₦24.94 billion, but the number of deals surged 33.29% to 39,972, reflecting higher transaction frequency with reduced trade sizes. In terms of volume, ACCESSCORP led the activity chart, accounting for 13.72% of the total volume of all trades conducted in the local bourse, followed by FIRSTHOLDCO (13.25%), UNIVINSURE (3.81%), SOVRENINS (3.80%), and ZENITHBANK (3.62%), rounding out the top five. ARADEL also emerged as the most traded stock in terms of value, accounting for 22.58% of the total value of all trade executed on the exchange. The oil company ARADEL topped the advancers’ chart for today with a price appreciation of 10.00 percent, trailed by NEM (+9.67%), ASOSAVINGS (+9.09%), ETERNA (+8.75%), CHAMS (+7.59%), WEMABANK (+7.32%) and nineteen others.
Thirty-four stocks depreciated in value, according to trading results from the domestic bourse. DEAPCAP was the top loser, with a price depreciation of – 9.71%. Other decliners include CHAMPION (-9.64%), OMATEK (-5.81%), ACCESSCORP (-5.40%), CADBURY (-4.14%), and OANDO (-2.21%) and other tier-1 names. Hence, market breadth closed negatively, recording 25 gainers and 34 losers. Sector performance was mixed: Oil & Gas (+4.24%), Commodity (+2.31%), and Insurance (+1.09%) sectors rose, while Banking (-1.98%) and Consumer Goods (-0.65%) fell, with the Industrial sector unchanged.