Investors in Nigeria’s equities market lost about N16billion on Monday driven majorly by notable laggards led by Berger Paints Plc.
Market watchers had expected a tepid start to this week’s trading, as investors continue to trade in line with companies’ earnings report released into the market.
“Presently, there are no fundamental factors that could spur interest in the market. Moreover, earnings releases and dividend announcements so far this year have done little in triggering investors’ interest. Also, we do not see significant upside on bellwether stocks, leaving little room for bargain hunting,” according to research analysts at Lagos-based Meristem.
The analysts, who do not expect the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) decision to significantly influence the stock market, noted that barring upward movement in any large cap stock, “we expect the market to close negative this week.”
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Berger Paints led the laggards on Monday after its share price decreased from N8.30 to N7.50, down by 80 kobo or 9.64percent, followed by Ikeja Hotel which decreased from N1.37 to N1.25, losing 12kobo or 8.76percent. Champion Breweries was also down, from N2.23 to N2.05, shedding 18kobo or 8.07percent.
UPDC dipped also from N1 to 92kobo, down by 8kobo or 8percent, while RT Briscoe also decreased from 80kobo to 72kobo, shedding 8kobo or 10percent.
The equities market’s benchmark performance indicator – Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) –All Share Index (ASI) which opened this week’s trading at a high of 47,282.67 points decreased by 0.07percent to 47,251.93 points on Monday, March 21. The market’s record positive return year to date (YtD) decreased to 10.62percent.
Also, the value of stocks listed on the Nigerian Exchange decreased by N16billion, from preceding day’s high of N25.482trillion to N25.466 trillion. Access Bank, Zenith Bank, UBA, GTCO and Transcorp were actively traded stocks on the Nigerian Exchange. In 4,485 deals, stock investor exchanged 213,569,936 units valued at N2.675billion.
