Sustained negative investors’ sentiment on the equity sector of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) yesterday dragged the All-share index further by 0.24 per cent.

At the close of trading yesterday, the All Share Index (ASI) shed 74.3 absolute points, representing a dip of 0.24 per cent to close at 30,568.05 points.

Similarly, the market capitalisation shed N27 billion at N11.166 trillion.

The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are; Seplat Petroleum Development Company, Nestle Nigeria, Nascon Allied Industries, Stanbic IBTC Holdings and Flour Mills Nigeria.

Analysts at Afrinvest Limited said: “We expect the domestic bourse to recover from yesterday’s negative performance on the final trading session of the week, in line with the undulating trend recorded throughout the week.”

Also reacting to market performance yesterday, the Managing Director of Investdata Consulting Limited, Ambrose Omodion said; “We expect this volatility to be sustained as bargain hunting and portfolio repositioning for year-end to shape performance of the market ahead of Santa Claus rally, as number of companies hitting new 52-week low are on the increased to reflect undervalue state of the market.


“The ongoing volatility will persist as Q3 numbers assist investors and fund managers re-balance their portfolios, while watching the political space and ahead of full year company earnings position and post-election market dynamics.

“These are likely to drive prices north, or south, while determining market direction before or after the Presidential Election.
Investors should review their positions in line with their investment goals, strength of the company numbers and act as events unfold in the global and domestic environment.”

Market breadth closed slightly negative with 20 gainers against 21 losers.

John Holt and AXAMansard Insurance recorded the highest price gain of 10 per cent, each to close at 44 kobo and N1.98, respectively, Forte Oil followed with a gain of 9.79 per cent, to close at N24.10 per share.

Newrest ASL Nigeria appreciated by 9.52 per cent to close at N6.90, while Union Bank went up by 8.33 per cent to close at N5.85, per share.

On the other hand, United Capital led the losers’ chart by 9.86 per cent, to close at N2.56 per share.

Seplat followed with a decline 9.83 per cent to close at N540, while Cutix depreciated by 9.64 per cent to close at N1.78 per share.

DAAR Communications declined by 9.09 per cent to close at 40 kobo, while champion Breweries down by 8.62 per cent to close at N1.59, per share. Investors traded a total share volume of 193.25 million valued at N3.7 billion in 2,950 deals.

FBN Holdings traded with 25.29 million shares valued at N182.97 million.

Access Bank followed with 24.1 million shares worth N179.55 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 18.74 million shares valued at N36.7 million.

Zenith Bank traded 17.65 million shares valued at N406.64 million, while Guaranty Trust Bank transacted 15.8 million shares worth N552.56 million.