NSE market capitalisation drops by N287.6bn to N11.8tn 

The All Share Index shed 2.4% today to settle at 32,449.22 points following profit taking in market bellwethers – DANGCEM (-6.8%), NESTLE (-2.1%) and FBNH (-4.7%). In the same vein, market capitalisation declined by 287.6bn to N11.8tn while YTD loss worsened to – 15.3%. However, activity level was mixed as volume traded advanced 105.7% to 380.7m units while value traded fell 0.8% to N3.2bn. FCMB (142.7m units), ACCESS (90.8m units) and TRANSCORP (16.4m units) were the top traded stocks by volume while the top traded stocks by value were ACCESS (N726.3m), NIGERIAN BREWERIES (N330.2m) and FCMB (N221.1m).

Performance across sectors was largely bearish as 3 of 5 indices under our coverage closed in the red. The Banking index advanced the most, up 0.5% as a result of buy interests in ZENITH (+0.8%), GUARANTY (+0.5%) and FIDELITY (+0.3%) while the Insurance index rose 0.4% on account of gains in NEM (+2.8%) and WAPIC (+7.3%). On the flip side, the Industrial and Consumer Goods indices shed 4.1% and 1.2% respectively following sell-offs in DANGCEM (-6.8%), NESTLE (-2.1%) and UNILEVER (-5.8%) while the Oil & Gas index fell by 0.2% on the back of profit taking in OANDO (-2.8%).

Investor sentiment as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) strengthened to 1.1x from 0.8x recorded yesterday as 17 stocks appreciated against 16 decliners. The best performing stocks were DIAMOND (+9.4%), LAWUNION (+7.7%) and NIGERINS (+7.7%) while TRANSEXP (-8.5%), REDSTAREX (-7.6%) and DANGCEM (-6.8%) led laggards. We expect a rebound tomorrow, although we opine that bearish sentiments remain elevated over the near term.

Market Statistics Wednesday, 24th October 2018

Market Cap (N’bn)                                    11829.8

Market Cap (US$’bn)                                     38.6

NSE All-Share Index                              32,403.60

Daily Performance %                                     (2.4)

Week Performance %                                    (0.1)

YTD Performance %                                    (15.3)

Daily Volume (Million)                                 380.7

Daily Value (N’bn)                                          2.3

Daily Value (US$’m)                                       7.6