By Our Reporter
Despite sell pressures in some companies quoted on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the volume of transactions at the close of trading rose by 22.6 per cent.
According to The Sun reports, this was even as 27 stocks posted gains as investor’ sentiments on the domestic bourse improved. However, the All Share Index (ASI) declined 0.71 per cent to close at 22,543.07 points.
Consequently, the market’s year to date (YTD) return worsened to -16.0 per cent, while market capitalisation fell N85 billion to close at N11.747 trillion. Activity level improved as volume and value traded rose 22.6 and 40.0 per cent to 675.8 million units and N8.1 billion respectively, exchanged in 7,368 deals.
The most active stocks by volume were Zenith Bank (173.9 million units), GT Bank (131.1 million units) and FBN Holdings (119.3 million units) while GT Bank (N2.6 billion), Zenith Bank (N2.3 billion) and Nestle (N745.4 million) led by value.
On the price chart, 27 stocks appreciated in value while 12 others depreciated. Access Bank topped the gainer’s chart with 10 per cent to close at N6.05 per share, Wapco followed with 10 per cent to close at 10 per cent to close at N11, UCAP increased by 10 per cent to close at N2.42, FCMB rose by 9.66 per cent to close at N1.59 while Cadbury garnered 9.62 per cent to close at N5.70.
On the flip side, Dangote Cement topped the loser’s chart with 10 per cent to close at N137.70 per share. NASCON was next with a decline of 10 per cent to close at N8.55, Ardova dropped 9.80 per cent to close at N13.80, CAP fell by 9.77 per cent to close at N18 while International Breweries lost 9.57 per cent to close at N5.20.
Reacting to the development, analysts at Afrinvest said, “We expect the bearish sentiment to persist for the rest of the week. However, we note that there are opportunities for bargain hunting”.
