June 1, 2018
By Yakubu LAAH InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Friday closed the week in red; losing 3.38 percent and bringing the Week-to-Date (W-t-D) returns down 6.38 percent, following the bearish sentiment across all sectors.
At the close of the trading session on the domestic bourse, market breadth index was negative with 15 gainers compared to 28 stocks that declined.
InvestmentOne reports that tier one lender, Access Bank Plc emerged the highest gainer with a gain of 5.29 percent, while beer maker, International Breweries Plc led the losers chart for the second consecutive session with a loss of 9.66 percent.
Access Bank also was the most actively traded with 145 million units of shares worth N1.6billion.
In terms of sector performance, , the NSE Industrial index shed 3.77 percent on the back of sell-offs in the shares of cement manufacturers,Dangote Cement Plc and Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc, both declining 7.08 percent and 2.30 percent respectively.
The NSE Consumer Goods index also depreciated by 3.49 percent following the drop in the shares of brewers International Breweries Plc by 9.66 percent, Guinness Nigeria Plc down by 5.00 percent, Nigerian Breweries recorded a loss of 4.54 percent and Nestle Nigeria Plc down 2.89 percent.
In the same vein, the NSE Banking Index lost 1.16 percent majorly driven by Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and FCMB Plc both dropping 4.57 percent and 3.96 percent each. Also, Wema Bank Plc and Sterling Bank came down 3.95 percent and 1.54 percent apiece.
The NSE Oil & Gas index closed down by 1.41 percent on the back of the losses in the shares of Forte Oil Plc by 5.00 percent and Total Nigeria Plc declining 4.86 percent.
“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,” InvestmentOne report affirmed.
