May 31, 2018
By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Bears on Thursday sustained its hold on the Nigerian equities market as the all-share index shed -1.30 percent to close the last trading session in the month of May 2018.
“Similarly, market breadth was negative with 21 gainers compared to 28 stocks that declined,” according to Updates from InvestmentOne Research.
At the close of the session’s trading on the floors of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) Cement manufacturer, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria emerged the highest gainer with a gain of +10.12 percent per share while, brewer, International Breweries Plc posted the biggest loss of -9.64 percent.
InvestmentOne reports that Stanbic IBTC was the most actively traded stock with 1.15 billion units of shares, which is an off market transaction, worth N62 billion.
In terms of sector performance, the NSE Consumer Goods index closed down by 2.59 percent, following the sell-offs in the shares of International Breweries Plc by -9.64 percent, Nestle Nigeria Plc depreciated -4.38 percent, followed by brewing giant Nigerian Breweries Plc and Flour Mills of Nigeria Plc both lost by 1.91 percent and -1.58 percent each.
Also on the losing train is the NSE Industrial index which shed -2.56 percent, majorly driven by the losses in the shares of Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc and Dangote Cement Plc both depreciating by 4.92 percent and 1.03 percent apiece.
Similarly, the NSE Banking index lost 1.10 percent, on the back of the decline in the shares of Access Bank Plc which dropped by -4.59 percent, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc dipped by -4.31 percent, Stanbic IBTC declined by -2.95 percent, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc both went down by -1.22 percent and 0.39 percent respectively.
The NSE Oil & Gas index also declined by -0.34 percent on the back of the losses in posted in the shares of major oil marketing firms, Forte Oil Plc and Oando Plc; both depreciating by -9.09 percent and -0.73 percent each.
“Going forward, we expect the market to remain volatile in the absence of positive news flow. With this said, we highlight that the recent sell-off in the equities market presents an entry opportunity for investors with a medium to longer term horizon,” the InvestmentOne update affirmed.
