June 25, 2018
By InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-The Nigerian equities market on Monday opened the first trading session of the week positive as the Nigerian Stock Exchange all-share index (NSE-ASI) gained 0.34 percent to close at 37,992.12 points on bellwether counters.
InvestmentOne reports at the close of the trading session on the domestic bourse, market breadth index was flat with 21 gainers compared to 21 stocks that declined.
The report says LASACO Assurance Plc, with a gain+5.88 percent emerged the topmost gainer, while first dual listed Nigerian oil and gas upstream firm, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc lost by -4.99 percent to led the losers chart.
Pan-African lender, the United Bank for Africa Plc was the most actively traded with 44 million units of shares worth N459 million.
In terms of sector performance, the NSE Oil & Gas index shed 2.58 percent following the sell-offs in SEPLAT which dropped -4.99 percent, Japaul Oil & Maritime Services Plc and oil marketer, Oando Plc both declined -4.26 percent and -3.05 percent apiece.
The NSE Consumer Goods index closed down by 0.21 percent on the back of the losses in the shares of Dangote Flour Mills Plc which depreciated by -1.43 percent; while beer producer, Nigerian Breweries Plc and Nestle Nigeria Plc both dropped -0.45 percent and -0.33 percent each.
In the same vein, InvestmentOne reports the NSE Industrial index dipped by 0.15 percent following the losses recorded in the shares of Chemical and Allied Products Plc by -4.89 percent, cement producer, Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc was down -2.50 percent which outweighed gains in the shares of Dangote Cement Plc that appreciated by +2.22 percent.
Also, the NSE Banking index lost 0.05 percent due to the decline in the shares of First City Monument Bank Limited which lost -3.65 percent, Diamond Bank Plc dropped -3.27 percent; while Fidelity Bank Plc and Access Bank Plc both dipped -2.63 percent and -2.40 percent; these losses outweighed gains in the shares of Guaranty Trust Bank Plc and Zenith Bank Plc both grew +0.86 percent and +0.19 percent respectively.
“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 added.
