Stocks extend three-day losing streak

ASI slips to 27,000bpts on sell-off

THE domestic equities market closed yesterday on a negative note, as investor-interest remains low in line with analysts’ expectation.

 Nigerian Stock Exchange [NSE] All Share Index [ASI] depreciated by 2.73 per cent to close at 27,935.77 basis points, compared with the 1.39 per cent depreciation recorded previously. Its Year-to-Date (YTD) returns currently stands at 19.39 per cent.

   Market breadth also closed negative as CCNN led five gainers against 37 losers topped by  Flourmill at the end of yesterday’s session- an unimproved performance when compared with previous outlook.

  Market turnover however closed positive as volume moved northwards by 21.24 per cent against 5.82 per cent uptick recorded in the previous session. First Bank, Zenith bank and Transcorp were the most active to boost market turnover. Zenith bank and ETI topped market value list.

  On sectoral indices,  Asem recorded 0.00 per cent gain to emerge the most supportive sectoral index among others while NSE Industrial emerged as worst hit to close with 4.15 per cent

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

  In the view of Dunlorenmerrifield analysts, , the current bearish trend is a reflection of the further increase in the associated political risks induced by the postponement of the general election. 

 Similarly, investors are concerned about the weak macro-economic position of the country, as equally seen in the sustained decline in the value of domestic currency to a record high.

  In the opinion of the analysts, though the heightened political risk poses a concern, the general apprehension about that arises as a result of the general elections appears to be over-rated. 

  Meanwhile, with the gradual increase in the prices of crude oil, the trepidation about the weak macro-economic position might be subdued in the short term.

  In their opinion, the current trading pattern will continue in the days ahead as we move towards the general elections in weeks ahead; however, the analysts  anticipate that the activities of bargain hunters may produce some days of short-lived spikes in the market.