Nestle, Dangote Cement lead 0.3 percent market loss

Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) maintained its negative feelings yesterday after selloffs in numerous highly capitalized stocks, including Nestle and Dangote Cement, which caused the all-share index (ASI) to decline by another 0.3%.

The ASI dropped yesterday, losing 204.17 percent of its value, or 0.3%, to settle at 68,082.11 points. Likewise, the market capitalization as a whole decreased by N112 billion to conclude at N37.262 trillion.

Price declines in major and medium-capitalized equities, including Nestle Nigeria, Dangote Cement, NASCON Allied Industries, Dangote Sugar Refinery, and Eterna, were the main causes of the market’s poor performance.

Afrinvest Limited analysts commented on the market’s prognosis, saying: “We anticipate a reversal in the bearish performance as investors position for bargain hunting opportunities.”

Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage analysts stated: “WTD return is currently 0.82 percent. Tomorrow, provided there are no material drops, we anticipate another favorable weekly close.

Following closely behind were Cadbury Nigeria, which increased by 9.86% to close at N15.6, and CWG, which increased by 9.81% to close at N5.26 kobo. Tantalizers increased by 9.52% to close at 46 kobo, and Guinea Insurance increased by 9.09% to finish at 36 kobo.

On the other hand, Morison Industries, which closed at N2.55 kobo, topped the losers’ chart by 9.89%. Following closely behind, Courteville Business Solutions dropped 7.69% to settle at 69 kobo, while NASCON Allied Industries dropped 6.83% to close at N56.60 kobo. To close at 41 kobo, R.T. Briscoe Nigeria experienced a 6.82 percent decrease. To finish at N5.10 kobo, Wema Bank lost 6.42 percent.

With 8,106 transactions, the overall amount traded decreased by 0.15 percent to 378.089 million units, worth N8.376 billion. Oando share transactions, totaling 91.635 million shares valued at N678.966 million, topped the list of activities.

With 29.973 million shares for N19.207 million, Omatek Ventures came next, and Dangote Sugar Refinery exchanged 23.394 million shares worth N1.484 billion.

Access Holdings traded 20.804 million shares for N361.865 million, while Fidelity Bank traded 22.166 million shares worth N193.577 million.