NSE’s All-share index depreciates by 0.6 per cent

The equities market closed yesterday on a negative note, as Nigerian Stock Exchange [NSE] All Share Index [ASI] depreciated by 0.60 per cent to close at 30,405.88basis points, compared with the 2.02 per cent depreciation recorded previously. Its Year-to-Date (YTD) returns currently stands at 12.27 per cent.

Market breadth also closed negative as Nacho led 15 gainers against 30 losers topped by Transexpr at the end of yesterday’s session- an unimproved performance when compared with previous outlook.

Market turnover however closed positive as volume moved up by 52.73 per cent against 34.06 per cent decline recorded in the previous session. Mbenefit, Unity Bank and UBA were the most active to boost market turnover. Wapco and Zenith Bank topped market value list.

Volume shockers included Neimeth which led the list of active stocks that recorded impressive volume spike at the end of yesterday’s session.

At the close of Friday’s trading, Nigerian equities moved in a choppy pattern with negative bias as the ASI closed lower – driven largely by the sudden drift in market sentiment from buying to selling.

With the expectation of third quarter of 2015 earnings season and investors’ cautious optimism given the slowing domestic economy, analysts expect the market (ASI) to find resistance between a 29,000-to-31,000 range.

This, in the view of Dunnlorenmerrifield analysts, will be supported by cyclical trade patterns of speculative investors with occasional spike occurring in between – depending on the occasional catalyst.