June 21, 2018
By InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Nigerian equities market on Thursday closed the third trading session of the week in the red as Nigerian Stock Exchange all-share index (NSE-ASI) lost 1.17 percent to close at 38,152.60 points, driven by sell-offs across most sectors.
InvestmentOne reports that at the close of the trading session on the domestic bourse, market breadth index was negative with 24 gainers compared to 26 stocks that declined.
The report says that Japaul Oil & Maritime Services Plc emerged the topmost gainer with a gain of +9.30 percent, while Honeywell Flour Mills Plc with a loss of -5.00 percent led the losers chart.
FBN Holdings Plc with a loss of -0.93 percent was the most actively traded with 37.29 million units of shares worth N394 million.
In terms of sector performance, the NSE Oil & Gas index closed down by 2.39 percent on the back of the selloffs recorded in the shares of first dual listed Nigerian oil and gas upstream firm, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc which lost -4.49 percent, Caverton Offshore Support Group Plc declined -1.78 percent, oil marketer, Oando Plc depreciated -1.48 percent and Eterna Plc dipped by -1.39 percent.
In the same vein, the NSE Banking index lost 0.54 percent due to the declines in the shares of lender, Skye Bank Plc and Guaranty Trust Bank Plc down -4.11 percent and -1.48 percent respectively; while Zenith Bank Plc, FBN Holdings Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc all came down by -1.15 percent, -0.93 percent and -0.47 percent apiece.
Also, the NSE Industrial index declined by 0.54 percent resulting from the losses in the shares of cement producers, Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc and Dangote Cement Plc both depreciated -4.76 percent and -3.64 percent respectively.
On the positive side, the NSE Consumer Goods index gained 0.47 percent following the buy interest recorded in the shares of beer producer, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Dangote Flour Mills Plc both up +2.75 percent and +0.96 percent each, Guinness Nigeria Plc and Flour Mills Nigeria Plc also appreciated +0.52 percent and +0.16 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 report affirmed.
