Airtel Africa, Lafarge others lead N569 billion market loss

Following losses in many highly capitalised companies, especially Airtel Africa and Lafarge, the dominance of the bears remain unabated in the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), as market capitalisation plunged further by N569 billion.

Yesterday, the all-share index (ASI) fell by 1,041.14 points, representing a decrease of 1.96 per cent to close at 51,952.99 points.

Accordingly, investors lost N569 billion in value as market capitalisation declined to N28.300 trillion.

The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are Airtel Africa, Lafarge Africa, UAC of Nigeria (UACN), Nigerian Breweries and Fidson Healthcare.

Analysts at United Capital Plc said: “We expect the bearish sentiments to continue in the market, supported by the illiquidity in the financial system. Subsequently, investors may favour the fixed-income market over the equities market.

“However, the low prices and valuations provide an opportunity for the buy-side to re-enter the market and take positions ahead of the Q1, 2023 earnings season.”

Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “Despite an overall bearish session, today’s 196bps loss was largely due to the significant decline recorded in the large-cap counter, as market sentiment remains negative. We expect to see recoveries in some of today’s declines, as the market looks to the next positive driver.”

Market breadth closed negative as four stocks gained relative to 28 decliners. Caverton Offshore Support Group recorded the highest price gain of 8.25 per cent to close at N1.05 kobo, while Nigerian Aviation Handling Company (NAHCO) followed with a gain 3.06 per cent to close at N10.10 kobo.

Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) appreciated by 2.19 per cent to close at N1.40 kobo, while Sterling Financial Holdings Company also gained 1.35 per cent to close at N1.50 kobo.

On the other hand, Airtel Africa led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N1,198, while Royal Exchange and Consolidated Hallmark Insurance followed with a decline of 9.09 per cent each to close at 60 kobo each.

Multiverse Mining and Exploration shed 8.75 per cent to close at N2.40 kobo, while Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals shed 8.28 per cent to close at N1.33 kobo.

Meanwhile, the total volume of trades increased by 545.6 per cent to 1.723 billion units, valued at N4.79 billion, and exchanged in 4,286 deals. Transactions in the shares of Transcorp topped the activity chart with 1.554 billion shares valued at N2.102 billion. Zenith Bank followed with 44.457 million shares worth N1.134 billion, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) traded 20.984 million shares valued at N179.518 million.

Fidelity Bank traded 8.395 million shares valued at N44.552 million, while Royal Exchange transacted 6.434 million shares worth N3.879 million.