Negative sentiments resumed at the equities sector of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) as investors wealth declined by N1.32 trillion yesterday amid losses in 46 stocks.

At the close of transactions yesterday, market capitalisation declined by N1.32 trillion or 0.84 per cent to close at N155.13 trillion from N156.44 trillion posted last friday.

Similarly, the all-share index (ASI) depreciated by 2,049.65 basis points or 0.84 per cent to close at 241,749.11 points, compared with 243,798.76 points at the previous session.
The decline came amid sell-offs in blue-chip counters, outweighing gains recorded in several medium-cap stocks.

On the sectoral performance, the NGX banking index declined to 2,118.28 points from 2,149.14 points, reflecting losses in Zenith Bank, GTCO, UBA and FCMB.

The NGX insurance index also retreated to 1,108.3 points from 1,132.98 points, while the NGX consumer goods index closed lower at 4,719.53 points from 4,691.9 points.

The NGX oil and gas index weakened slightly to 5,250.22 points from 5,255.03 points, and the Industrial Index dropped to 10,361.67 points from 10,713.01 points.

Market breadth closed negative as 46 stocks depreciated against 19 gainers, highlighting the dominance of bearish sentiment.

Leading the gainers’ chart was Nigerian Infrastructure Debt Fund (NIDF), which appreciated by 9.97 per cent to close at N163.30 per unit. It was followed by International Breweries, which rose 9.77 per cent to N14.60, while NAHCO gained 8.36 per cent to close at N177.

Other notable gainers included UACN, which advanced 8.11 per cent to N199.95; Daar Communications was up by 6.67 per cent to N1.76; Vitafoam Nigeria.

On the losers’ table, PZ Cussons Nigeria recorded the maximum daily decline of 10 per cent, closing at N81 from N90.

BUA Cement followed closely with a 9.99 per cent decline to N306.20, while Red Star Express shed 9.98 per cent to N22.10.

Other major decliners included RT Briscoe (-9.70 per cent), C&I Leasing (-9.38 per cent), Caverton Offshore Support Group (-9.01 per cent), Cadbury Nigeria (-8.95 per cent), Nascon Allied Industries (-8.91 per cent), Wapic Insurance (-8.33 per cent) and Universal Insurance (-8.00 per cent).

Profit-taking also hit several heavily capitalised stocks, with Zenith Bank declining 3.25 per cent, GTCO shedding 1.43 per cent, UBA losing 0.61 per cent, NGX Group dropping 1.37 per cent, Transcorp falling 2.47 per cent, Oando declining 2.26 per cent, First HoldCo losing 5.20 per cent, Unilever Nigeria retreating 1.88 per cent and Ellah Lakes shedding 2.78 per cent.

Analysts said the day’s performance indicated that investors remain cautious despite pockets of bargain hunting in selected counters, as profit-taking in highly capitalised stocks continued to weigh heavily on the overall market.

They expected trading in the coming sessions to remain mixed, with investors likely to focus on corporate earnings expectations and company-specific fundamentals ahead of the half-year reporting season.