Activities of profit takers in Nigeria’s equities market caused an unexpected negative close recorded Thursday January 21 on the Bourse. Except for industrial goods (+0.27percent), all other NSE sectoral indices closed in the red zone.

Despite negative close on Thursday, market watchers on Custom Street, Lagos expect Friday’s trading session to be mixed due to anticipated bargain hunting in some value counters, as well as possible extension of profit taking activities in stocks that had reached record high lately.

Stocks that fueled the record loss include MRS Plc which topped laggards’ league after dipping from N13.75 to N12.4, up N1.35 or 9.82percent. It was followed by Cadbury Nigeria Plc which moved from a high of N10.8 to N9.75, shedding N1.05 or 9.72percent.

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Likewise, Flour Mills decreased from N32.5 to N31.6, losing 90kobo or 2.77percent. Dangote Cement Plc was also down from N234.5 to N234, shedding 50kobo or 0.21percent, followed by Guinness Nigeria Plc which dropped from a high of N18.95 to N18.5, losing 45kobo or 2.37percent.

The market’s year-to-date (ytd) positive return moderated to +2.06percent. The Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI) decreased by 0.12percent from 41,147.72 points to 41,099.15 points while market capitalisation decreased by N25billion, from N21.524trillion to N21.499trillion.

In 7,404 deals, investors exchanged 1,121,363,848 units valued at N6.397billion. Transcorp, GTBank, Sovereign Trust Insurance, Mutual Benefit and Universal Insurance were most traded stocks on the Exchange.

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By Iheanyi Nwachukwu • January 22, 2021

Iheanyi Nwachukwu, is a creative content writer with almost two decades journalism experience writing on banking, finance, capital markets, and tax. The multiple awards winning journalist is Assistant Editor, BusinessDay. Iheanyi holds BSc Degree in Economics from Imo State University; Master of Science (MSc) Degree in Management from University of Lagos. Iheanyi has attended several work-related trainings including (i) Advanced Writing and Reporting Skills (Pan African University, Lagos); (ii) News Agency Journalism (Indian Institute of Mass Communication {IIMC}, New Delhi, India); and (iii) Capital Markets Development and Regulations (International Law Institute {ILI} of Georgetown University, Washington DC, USA). Other trainings Iheanyi attended include: Economic/Political Risk Analysis (By Thomson Reuters Foundation); International Financial Journalism (IFJ) (By PMA Media Training, UK); Effective Business Writing Skills (By Phillips Consulting); Reporting on Corporate Governance (By International Finance Corporation (IFC) & Thomson Reuters Foundation UK); etc. In addition, he has participated in high-level economy & markets events in Dubai, South Africa, Morocco, and other African countries like Zambia, Ghana and Gambia.

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