Trading activities remained bearish at the Nigerian bourse Wednesday as lead market indices fell 0.06 percent, amidst sell pressures in value stocks.
The NSE ASI closed the day at 37,963.93 points, as month-to-date and year-to-date returns dipped to -0.37 percent and -0.73 percent, respectively.
Three of the five major sectoral indices closed negative with the insurance index recording the highest loss of 0.83 percent, followed by banking index that dropped 0.58 percent, and consumer goods index declining by 0.16 percent. The declines were as a result of selloffs in shares of PRESTIGE (-5.00%), ZENITHBANK (-1.96%), and CADBURY (-3.85%) respectively.
On the flip side, the Industrial Goods (+0.90%) and Oil & Gas (+0.30%) indices closed positive, following demands for the shares of WAPCO (2.43%) and TOTAL (3.72%) respectively.
Market breadth worsened, with 35 losers and 12 gainers, led by JAPAULOIL (-7.32%) and CILEASING (+4.66%).
Total volume of trades increased by 31.02 percent to 372.24 million units, valued at N3.18 billion, and exchanged by investors in 3,800 deals.
With the absence of near-term one-off positive catalysts, save for likely better-than-expected Q2 earnings results, analysts at Cordros Capital posit a cautious approach towards risky assets in the short-to-medium term, despite supportive macroeconomic fundamentals.
They, however, noted that, “we continue to see value in taking long term position in fundamentally sound stocks, particularly those with consistent dividend paying history.”
