…The Naira appreciated by 0.30%to close at ₦1,521.46
The equities market closed in negative territory today as the bears maintained pressure, dragging the NGXASI down by 42 basis points to settle at 138,157.16 points. The decline reflects ongoing profittaking activities in the market.
The decline was propelled by price dip in bell weather stocks like, UBA, ZENITHBANK, GTCO, ACCESSCORP, FIDELITYBK, ARADEL and 37 other laggards that dragged the market lower.
As a result, the Year-to-Date (YTD) return stood at 34.23%, while market capitalization dropped 0.42% to ₦87.41 trillion, translating to a ₦367.29 billion loss in investors’ wealth.
Sectoral performance was broadly negative, with four of the five tracked indices posting losses. The Insurance index led the decline, down 4.46%, trailed by Consumer Goods (-1.32%), Banking (-0.55%), and Oil & Gas (-0.44%). The slump was driven by sell-offs in major stocks including MANSARD, UNIVINSURE, LASACO, AIICO, CORNERST, LINKASSURE, MBENEFIT, UBA, ZENITHBANK, GTCO, ACCESSCORP, FIDELITYBK and OANDO. In contrast, the Industrial Goods index emerged as the sole gainer, inching up 0.23% on price appreciation in WAPCO.
MARKET ACTIVITY: Market activity was mixed, with trading volume appreciating 18.45% to 482.76 million units, while value traded slipped by 50.66% to ₦19.67 billion.
MARKET BREADTH: The market breadth, which measures investor sentiment through the Gainers/Losers ratio increased to 0.33x from 0.21x as 14 stocks appreciated,43 stocks depreciated and 68 stocks closed flat.
FIXED INCOME MARKET: Yields in the Treasury bills and Bonds market edged lower, with averages easing slightly to 18.67% and 16.89%, respectively.
CURRENCY MARKET: The Naira appreciated by 0.30% to ₦1,521.46 in the official market.
