Profit-taking on Tuesday outweighed bargain hunting in the equities segment of the Nigerian Stock Exchange for the second straight day this week, causing key market indicators to close lower.
The NSE All-Share Index fell by 1.26 per cent or 375.87 basis points from 29,929.56 basis points to 29,553.69, a day after it depreciated by 2.57 per cent.
Also, the market capitalisation of the listed equities was down by 1.26 per cent or N126bn to close at N9.861tn, as against the 2.57 per cent drop it recorded on Monday to close at N9.987tn.
Apart from the NSE Alternative Securities Market Index and the NSE Industrial Index, which were unchanged at 1,212.94 basis points and 1,853.20 basis points respectively, all the other indices fell on Tuesday, indicating widespread profit-taking activities.
The banking sector was hit the most as the NSE Banking Index fell by 3.9 per cent from 342.41 basis points to close at 329.11 basis points.
It was followed by the NSE Oil and Gas Index, which suffered a 2.08 per cent drop to close at 347.62 basis points, down from 355.01 basis points.
The NSE 30 Index, which tracks the performance of the top 30 stocks on the NSE, fell by 1.53 per cent from 1,364.23 basis points to 1,343.38 basis points, while the NSE Lotus Islamic Index shed 0.84 per cent to close at 1,992.67 basis points.
The NSE Insurance Index and the NSE Consumer Goods Index fell by 0.27 per cent and 0.1 per cent each to close at 142.33 basis points and 749.43 basis points in that order.
In all, investors exchanged 452.288 million equities valued at N3.283bn in 3,739 deals on Tuesday, compared to the 298.980 million shares worth N1.830bn that were traded in 3,703 deals the previous day.
According to the Exchange, the most traded stocks are Diamond Bank Plc, Access Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc, Transnational Corporation of Nigeria Plc and FCMB Group Plc.
A total of 24 stocks recorded price appreciation on Tuesday with only six stocks making it to the gainers’ table.
Guaranty Trust Bank Plc was the top loser, shedding 7.54 per cent or N1.81 to close at N22.19 per share.
United Capital Plc followed with a 6.06 per cent or 10 kobo share price depreciation to close at N1.55 per share.
Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc and Diamond Bank Plc fell by five per cent each to close at N9.50, N388.08, and N3.99 per share, respectively.
Access Bank Plc led the gainers after rising by 10.03 per cent or 60 kobo to close at N6.58 per share.
Costain (West Africa) Plc was up by 4.69 per cent or three kobo to close at 67 kobo per share, while International Energy Insurance Plc and Fidson Healthcare rose by 3.85 per cent and 1.35 per cent to close at 54 kobo and N3 per share in that order.
source: punch
