BUA Cement, other stocks halt market rally

Nigeria’s equities market on Monday halted a recent rally with a decline by 0.30 percent or N110 billion as investors took profit in stocks following recent gains.

“Given the bullish performance the market has witnessed in the last three weeks, there is a possibility of profit-taking activities influencing the market at the beginning of this week.

“However, it is anticipated that later in the week, there may be a resurgence of bargain hunting, potentially contributing to a positive market trend,” Vetiva research analysts said ahead of the market open.

BUA Cement Plc led the league of others top laggards after its share price dipped most, from N107 to N98.70, losing N8.30 or 7.76percent, followed by Japaul Gold which dropped from N1.98 to N1.80, down by 18kobo or 9.09percent, and Chams which dipped from N2.08 to N2, after losing 8kobo or 3.85percent.

Read also: How high costs slowed BUA cement’s nine months profit growth

“This week, we expect mixed sentiments to prevail, with more of positive sentiments from investors, particularly directed toward listed corporates with strong fundamentals and impressive 9M-2023 financial performance.

“Pockets of profit-booking activities is also envisaged, as some investors will look to crystallise gains. A downside for the equities market is a sustained improvement in fixed term deposit (FTD) rates offered by the banks, which would invariably divert some interest toward money market instruments,” said Lagos-based United Capital analysts.

Read also: Inside look at Bua Cement’s strategy to disrupt Nigeria’s cement industry

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and its market capitalisation depreciated from 70,849.38 points and N38.925 trillion respectively to 70,644.85 points and N38.815 trillion. The market’s positive return year-to-date (YtD) decreased to 37.77 percent.

In 7,630 deals, investors exchanged 474,386,602 shares valued at N7.751billion. Fidelity Bank, Japaul Gold, UBA, Transcorp, and Jaiz Bank were actively traded stocks.