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By Chinwendu Obienyi
Following depreciation in the value of some stocks trading on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (Limited), investors have now lost N107 billion in three consecutive trading sessions.
Having gained 0.2 per cent and N57 billion on Monday, sell-offs returned to the market on Tuesday and Wednesday. Further sell-offs ensued as the All Share Index (ASI) fell by 0.12 per cent to close at 52,122 points while market capitalization which closed at N28.214 trillion on Monday, closed at N28.107 trillion on Thursday.
This, translates to the N107 billion loss in market capitalization as year-to-date (ytd) now stands at +22.02 per cent. Trading activity was dampened as the volume of stocks traded stood at 151.94 million units while value of stocks stood at N2.15 billion which exchanged hands in 3,447 deals.
GTCO was the most active stock, transacting 338.49 million shares valued at 707.71 million. UBA traded 142.38 million shares worth N105.39 million while UACN sold about 124.69 million shares valued at N139.25 million.
According to analysts and stockbrokers, the bearish sentiment seen in the market is down to the weak macroeconomic environment as well as the lingering issue of FX in the market.
Meanwhile, investors’ sentiment remained negative as 22 stocks depreciated, 13 others appreciated in value while 70 others closed flat. International Breweries topped the losers’ chart with 9.17 per cent to close at N4.95 per share, Caverton followed with 8.80 per cent to close at N1.14, RT Briscoe declined by 8.33 per cent to close at 0.44 kobo, Chams dropped 7.41 per cent to close at 0.25 kobo while Lasaco lost 7.34 per cent to close at N1.01.
