In a day marked by sell-offs in some stocks, equity investors on the Nigerian Exchange witnessed a substantial loss of N437 billion on Monday. The All-Share Index and the market capitalization both experienced a decline, shedding 0.73% and 0.76% respectively to close at 103,659.81 points and N56.72 trillion.
The measure of investors’ sentiment, Market Breadth, was mixed with 28 losers and 28 gainers recorded at the close of trading.
Among the gainers were Cadbury, Cornerstone Insurance, Meyer Plc, Daar Communications, and May&Baker, each gaining 10% to close at N22, N2.09, N4.73, N0.77, and N6.93 respectively.
On the flip side, Abbey Mortgage Bank, Livestock, Fidelity Bank, JAIZ Bank, and MTN Nigeria featured prominently among the losers. Abbey Mortgage Bank lost 9.70%, Livestock dipped by 9.66%, Fidelity Bank lost 9.38%, JAIZ Bank depreciated by 7.93%, and MTN Nigeria closed trading with a loss of 5.52%.
The day’s market trend was largely influenced by stocks of FBNHoldings, Nigerian Breweries, and Transcorp Plc. FBNH emerged as the most traded security in terms of volume and value, with 332.30 million units worth N8.95 billion changing hands in 767 deals.
Traded volume for the day saw a slight decrease, totaling 841.55 million units compared to the previous day’s volume of 943.51 million units. The units were valued at N19.32 billion and traded in 13,674 deals involving 124 stocks.
Sectoral performance varied, with the Banking and Consumer Goods indexes declining by 2.30% and 0.03% respectively, while the Insurance and Industrial Indexes recorded increases of 2.67% and 0.01% respectively. The Oil/Gas sector remained flat.
Looking ahead for the week, analysts at Cowry Research anticipate a mixed trend in the market. They foresee a possibility of profit-taking as investors continue sectoral rotation, capitalizing on stocks experiencing pullbacks to strategically position themselves. This rotation strategy is expected to create further buying opportunities, particularly in anticipation of more earning releases in the corporate reporting season.
