The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) sustained the bearish hold at the end of yesterday’s transactions, occasioned by price depreciation in most banking stocks, causing the All-Share Index (ASI) to retreat further by 0.36 per cent.
 
Specifically, at the close of transactions Tuesday, the ASI fell by 86.01 absolute points or 0.36 per cent to close at 24,114.59 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation shed N44 billion to close at N12.580 trillion.
   
The downturn was impacted by losses recorded in large and medium value stocks, including; Guaranty Trust Bank, Zenith Bank, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria, Access Bank, and Africa Prudential.
   
Analysts at Afrinvest Limited, said: “We continue to see sell pressure dominate the market as investor sentiment remains weak. Hence, we expect a mixed performance for the week.”
   
APT Securities and Funds Limited also said: “We retain our opinion on a bearish outlook. We therefore advise for a mid to long term positioning as market technical are down at this time.”
   
Market breadth closed negative, eight stocks posted gains while 15 stocks declined. Unilever Nigeria recorded the highest price gain of 9.64 per cent to close at N13.65 per share.
   
Chams, and Regency Alliance Insurance followed with 4.55 per cent each to close at 23 kobo each, per share. Japaul Oil and Maritime Services rose 4.17 per cent to close at 25 kobo, and Jaiz Bank garnered 3.70 per cent to close at 56 kobo, per share.
   
On the other hand, Arbico Plc led the losers’ chart by 9.94 per cent to close at N1.54 per share. GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria followed with 9.38 per cent to close at N4.35 per share.
   
Associated Bus Company lost 9.09 per cent to close at 50 kobo per share. Sterling Bank fell 4.72 per cent to close at N1.21, while Africa Prudential shed 4.24 per cent to close at N4.07, per share.
   
Also, the total volume traded slipped 9.96 per cent to 208.203 million shares worth N1.059 billion, traded in 4,174 deals. Transactions in the shares of Sterling Bank topped the activity chart with 78.917 million shares valued at N98.648 million.
 
United Bank for Africa (UBA) followed with 15.777 million shares worth N96.029 million, and Japaul Oil and Maritime Services traded 12.793 million shares at N3.216 million. FBN Holdings traded 10.933 million shares valued at N56.004 million, while Zenith Bank transacted 10.645 million shares worth N167.105 million.