Stock market loses N57bn as selloffs persist

For the fourth consecutive session, the domestic bourse extended its losses by N57 billion, driven by selloffs in FBN Holdings, Access Corporation and Transnational Corporation, among others. Specifically, the market capitalisation opened at N55.188 trillion and shed N57 billion or 0.10 per cent to close at N55.131 trillion. Also, the All-Share Index lost 0.10 per cent, or 99.24 points, to close at 97,100.36, down from 97,199.6 recorded on Wednesday. Consequently, the Year-To-Date (YTD) return fell to 29.86 per cent. Meanwhile, market breadth closed negative, with 31 losers and 14 gainers on the floor of the Exchange. Oando led the losers’ table, declining by 9.94 per cent to close at N32.60.
ABC Transport followed, falling by 9.52 per cent to close at 76k per share. Guinea Insurance dropped 9.09 per cent to close at 40k, Livestock Feeds Plc shed 9.09 per cent to close at N2.20, and Computer Warehouse Group lost 7.69 per cent to close at N5.40 per share. On the flip side, Neimeth led the gainers’ table, rising by 9.55 per cent to close at N2.18, followed by Total Plc, which gained 8.82 per cent to close at N511.9 per share. AIICO added 6.54 per cent to close at N1.14, C&I Leasing went up by 6.07 per cent to close at N2.97, while UPDC rose by 4.92 per cent to close at N1.28 per share. An analysis of market activities showed that trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 35.71 per cent.
A total of 271.26 million shares valued at N3.52 billion were exchanged in 7,233 deals, compared to 315.30 million shares valued at N5.48 billion in 8,365 deals traded in the previous session. Veritas Kapital led the activity chart in volume, with 33.38 million shares valued at N40.73 million. Sterling Nigeria followed, with 16.65 million shares worth N65.86 million. AIICO traded 16.37 million shares valued at N18.32 million, RT Briscoe transacted 16.17 million shares worth N28.56 million, while GTCO led the chart in value, trading 15.94 million shares valued at N725.23 million.