Brexit Hits Nigerian Stocks, Investors Lose N278bn

Investors in the country’s capital market recorded a loss of N278bn on Monday as concerns that the market might plummet due to the decision of Britain to leave the European Union heightened.

Some traders said there was the worry that the Brexit might slow foreign interest in the market.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange market capitalisation on Monday dropped to N10.248tn from N10.526tn, while the All-Share Index also declined to 29,840.23 basis points from 30,649.66 basis points recorded on Friday.

A total of 40 stocks recorded losses, while 16 made the gainers’ chart.
The market recorded a turnover of N4.027bn from 375.221 million shares traded in 4,229 deals.

United Capital Plc, Zenith Bank Plc, Stanbic IBTC Holdings Plc, Forte Oil Plc and Seplat Petroleum Development Company Limited were the top five losers on the chart.

United Capital’s share dropped by N0.22 (7.94 per cent) to close at N2.32 from N2.52, while that of Zenith Bank lost N1.04 (6.12 per cent) to close at N15.96 from N17.

Stanbic IBTC also closed at N16.15 from N17, losing N0.85 (five per cent), while Forte Oil posted a decline of N10 (five per cent) to close at N190 from N200.

The share price of Seplat Petroleum fell to N331.60 from N348.97, losing N17.37 (4.98 per cent).

Other losers were Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, Oando Plc, Ikeja Hotels Plc, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc, Diamond Bank Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc, Flour Mills Nigeria Plc, AG Leventis Nigeria Plc, Sterling Bank Plc and Unity Bank Plc, among others.

Analysts said the stocks began the week on a negative footing as sell-offs across board prevailed. Asian markets shrugged off Friday’s global sell-off, while the European markets slid further as investors continued to weigh the impact of Britain’s decision. United States futures pointed to a lower open.

The NSE ASI and NSE 30 lost 2.63 per cent and 2.43 per cent, putting year-to-date returns at +4.19 per cent and +3.24 per cent, respectively.

The value of transactions was above May averages by 70 per cent, while the volume of transactions was below May averages by five per cent.

Fidson Healthcare Plc, Julius Berger Plc and GlaxoSmithkline Consumer Plc led the gainers chart, advancing by 9.91 per cent, five per cent and 4.97 per cent, respectively.

On Monday’s trading result, analysts at Vetiva Capital Management Limited said in the firm’s daily report, “Although we note the impact of broader downbeat global market sentiment, we believe today’s losses were largely fuelled by profit-taking across a handful of large cap stocks following the strength of the gains recorded in recent sessions. We think there’s still some room for profit-taking, and thus see a likelihood for another negative close in the session ahead.”

Source:- Punchng