Bears resurface at Nigeria’s equities market as NSE ASI declines 0.70%

Bearish sentiments resurfaced at the Nigerian Stock Exchange as the all share index fell by 0.70 percent on Tuesday to close at 36,455.24 points as against an appreciation of 0.30 percent recorded on Monday, bringing its year-to-date performance 4.68 percent lower.

The performance was mainly as a result of the decline recorded in the share prices of some highly capitalised companies such as Dangote Cement, Nigerian Breweries, UBA, Ecobank Transnational, and Lafarge Africa.

Similarly, market capitalization depreciated by 0.70 percent to close at N13.21 trillion reducing its year-to-date returns to 2.97 percent.

Market breadth closed negative with 16 gainers compared to 29 stocks that declined. Cutix Plc with a gain of 10 percent was the topmost gainer, while Wapco Plc with a loss of 10 percent led the losers chart.

Sector performance followed a similar trend as four out of five major indices closed in red.

The industrial index shed 3.88 percent due to the losses in the shares of cement producers, Lafarge Cement, Wapco Plc and Dangote Cement Plc which dipped 10.00 percent and 0.42 percent respectively.

The consumer goods index declined by 0.69 percent following the sell-off in the shares of PZ Cussons Nigeria Plc and Honeywell Flour Mills Plc that lost 9.82 percent and 9.47 percent each; while Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc dropped by 3.95 percent. Nigerian Breweries Plc and Guinness Nigeria Plc likewise lost 2.31 percent and 1.03 percent respectively.

In the same vein, the NSE oil & gas index lost 0.45 percent following the decline in the shares of Eterna Plc and Oando Plc, both declining 5.51 percent and 2.91 percent, respectively.

The banking index fell by 0.32 percent on the back of the losses in the shares of First City Monument Bank Plc and Fidelity Bank Plc, both down 9.50 percent and 9.47 percent, respectively. Also, mid-tier lender, Unity Bank Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc both dipped by 4.26 percent and 2.66 percent each.

The Insurance index was the sole gainer for the day having closed 0.18 percent higher on the backdrop of gains recorded in AIICO Insurance and REGALINS, which gained 1.64 percent and 4.17 percent, respectively.

The three most actively traded stocks were Medview Airline (100 million), Transcorp (45.50 million), and Zenith Bank (42.71 million).

“We believe recent sell-off could present a decent entry opportunity into our quality names. Furthermore, we could see investors take position in anticipation of the release of H1 2018 results and possible corporate action,” said analysts at InvestmentOne.