NSE’s ASI slides as stocks start week bearish

The downward pressure that prevailed last week was sustained yesterday as the broad market index recorded another significant decline, marked by weak investors’ patronage and rising capital outflows amidst deepening sell-off.

Specifically, equities market closed yesterday on a negative note, as Nigerian Stock Exchange [NSE] All Share index [ASI] depreciated by 2.22 per cent to close at 29,214.13basis points, compared with the 0.44 per cent appreciation recorded previously. Its Year-to-Date (YTD) returns currently stands at 15.71 per cent

Market breadth also closed negative as Paintcom led nine gainers against 46 losers topped by PZ at the end of yesterday’s session- an unimproved performance when compared with previous outlook.

Market turnover equally closed negative as volume declined by 25.45 per cent against 87.97 per cent decline recorded in the previous session.

UBA, Zenith Bank and Access Bank were the most active to boost market turnover. Guaranty and Zenith Bank topped market value list.

Volume shockers included Nigerian police Force Microfinance Bank which led the list of active stocks that recorded impressive volume spike at the end of yesterday’s session. As observed in recent weeks, domestic equities will be on this trajectory this week, in the absence of a significant catalyst to trigger a reversal.

Against this backdrop, analysts viewed that the continuous volatility will impact fund flows to the market in the interim, particularly on concerns of the impact of the slowdown in China on foreign portfolio investors’ appetite for equities.

Notwithstanding, with the plunge in equities prices, they saw opportunities for strong bargains especially for long term investors looking to take advantage of low equity prices.