August 7, 2018
By InvestAdvocate
Lagos (INVESTADVOCATE)-Proceedings in the Nigerian equities market remained bearish, as the all-share index (ASI) shed 0.40 percent to 36,333.80 points, amidst sell pressure in value stocks.
Cordros reports as a result, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date losses increased further to -1.85 percent and -4.99 percent respectively.
According to the report, the Oil & Gas index with a loss of -4.69 percent emerged the topmost loser, following profit taking in the shares of first dual listed Nigerian oil and gas upstream firm, Seplat Petroleum Development Company Plc which lost by -8.45 percent.
Also, selloffs in the shares of top tier lender, Zenith Bank Plc and cement producer, Lafarge Cement Wapco Nigeria Plc both down -0.84 percent and -1.97 percent each, the shares of insurer, Mutual Benefit Assurance Plc came down by -8.82 percent which led to losses in the Banking (-1.08 percent), Industrial Goods (-0.93 percent), and Insurance (-0.78 percent) indices.
On the positive side, is the Consumer Goods index with a gain of +0.63 percent; owing to interest in the shares of beer maker, Nigerian Breweries Plc which gained +2.08 percent.
Cordros reports that market breadth turned positive, with 22 gainers and 21 losers, led by Newrest ASL Plc with a gain of +10.00 percent and Chemical and Allied Products Plc with a loss of -10.00 percent respectively.
The update says total volume of trades rose by 36.07 percent to 248.05 million units, valued at N2.25 billion, and exchanged in 3,932 deals.
“Our outlook for equities in the short to medium term remain conservative, amidst brewing political concerns, and the absence of a one-off positive trigger. However, stable macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of recovery in the long term,” the Cordros report affirmed.
