Bearish grip forces index further down by 0.91%

The Nigerian equities market sustained a sliding profile into the mid-week, even as more blue chip stocks depreciated in price, resulting to a further decline in the All-Share Index (ASI) by 0.91 percent.
   
Yesterday, the ASI decreased by 267.73 absolute points, representing a dip of 0.91 percent to close at 29,110.90 points. Similarly, the overall market capitalisation size shed N138 billion to close at N14.995 trillion.
   
The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in medium and large value stocks, amongst which were; MTN Nigeria, Guaranty Trust Bank, Unilever Nigeria, UAC of Nigeria (UACN), and BOC Gases Nigeria. Analysts at Afrinvest Limited, said: “Despite weak investor sentiment, we maintain our bullish outlook for the equities market in the near term.”
   
Market breadth closed negative, with 10 gainers against 18 losers. Lasaco Assurance recorded the highest price gain of 7.69 percent to close at 28 kobo per share. Aiico Insurance followed with 6.33 percent to close at 84 kobo, and Flour Mills of Nigeria appreciated 5.67 percent to close at N22.35, per share.
   
Oando rose 2.75 percent to close at N3.74, while Sterling Bank edged 2.16 percent to close at N1.89, per share.
On the other hand, BOC Gases Nigeria led the losers’ chart by 9.09 percent to close at N4.50 per share.
   
NEM insurance followed with 8.33 per cent to close at N2.20, and AXA Mansard Insurance was down 6.10 percent to close at N2.00, per share. Wapic Insurance lost 5.41 per cent to close at 35 kobo, while UACN shed 5.21 per cent to close at N10, per share.The total volume traded also fell by 3.26 per cent to 242.76 million shares worth N4.59 billion, traded in 3,556 deals.
   
Transactions in the shares of Zenith Bank topped the activity chart with 46.57 million shares valued at N980.70 million. Unilever Nigeria followed with 25.01 million shares worth N375.32 million.Guaranty Trust Bank traded 24.34 million shares at N740.24 million. FCMB Group traded 21.08 million shares valued at N41.11 million, while United Bank for Africa (UBA) transacted 12.37 million shares worth N101.99 million.