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By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Nigerian equities market commenced August on a negative note, with the All-Share Index (ASI) declining by 0.42 per cent to close at 97,359.76 basis points.
This downturn resulted in a significant loss of N235.38 billion for investors, bringing the market capitalization down to N55.28 trillion from an opening value of N55.52 trillion.
The bearish trend was largely driven by sell-offs in major stocks, including MTN Nigeria, FBNH, UBA. Despite some positive movements in ZENITHBANK and Accesscorp, the overall market sentiment remained subdued.
The market’s sluggish start to August underscores ongoing investor caution amid uncertainties including the ongoing nationwide protest which is expected to disrupt economic and business activities across the country.
Trading activity on the local bourse saw a notable decline, with both volume and value of trades dropping by 69.26 per cent and 63.09 per cent respectively. A total of 565.12 million units were exchanged for N8.53 billion. Fidelity Bank led the session with the highest volume and value traded, recording 37.3 million units at N3.94 billion.
Market breadth was relatively balanced, with 21 gainers outpacing 19 losers. United Capital emerged as the top gainer, appreciating by 9.95 per cent to close a lt N11.05 per share. They were followed by Cutix and Africa Prudential both gaining 9.40 per cent closing at N5.64 and N9.40 per share respectively.
On the other hand, MECURE was the worst performer, declining by 9.94 per cent closing the day’s trade at N8.15 per share. THOMASWY and WAPIC also lost 9.74 per cent and 8.24 per cent to close at N1.76 and N0.78 per share respectively.
Sectoral performance was mixed. The Consumer Goods declined by 0.55 per cent, Insurance lost 0.18 per cent and Oil and Gas went down by 0.05 per cent impacted by sell-offs in DANGSUGAR, WAPIC and OANDO. Conversely, the Banking and Industrial Goods index gained 0.42 per cent and 0.01 per cent bolstered by positive performances in the shares of ZENITHBANK and CUTIX.
