Investors lose N75bn as stock market opens week on negative note

Nigeria’s equities market opened this week on a negative note by (-0.29percent) as investors lost about N75billion on Monday, February 14.

The record southward close on the Nigeria Bourse happened following market watchers expectation that this new week will start off with mixed sentiment amid cherry-picking activities.

While investors raise bet on Guinness Nigeria Plc which pushed its share price to new high of N66.55, from day-open low of N60.50, up by N6.05 or 10percent; others chose to sell NGX Group Plc which led on the losers table as its share price decreased from day-open high of N26.50 to N25, losing N1.50 or 5.66percent.

“This week, we expect to see investors continue to book profits on positions that have appreciated significantly in the past weeks. From the large-cap stocks, we expect the profit-taking to extend to their mid-cap and small-cap outperformers,” Lagos-based United Capital analysts said in their February 14 note.

“That said, with the big banks likely to release their FY-2021 numbers within the next two weeks, we expect investors to begin to take positions in names expected to deliver outperforming numbers while declaring strong dividend payments”, the analysts added.

Read also: Equities market gains N54bn as more investors buy

At the close of trading session on Monday, the Nigerian Exchange Limited All-Share Index (ASI) decreased by 0.29 percent from 47,202.3 points to 47,066.77 points. The value of listed stocks on the Nigerian Bourse also decreased from a high of N25.435trillion to N25.360trillion, down by N75billion.

Custodian Investment Plc also made the top decliners league after its share price decreased from N7.90 to N7.45, down by 45kobo or 5.70percent. Japaul Gold Plc also made the top decliners list after its share price dropped from 39kobo to 36kobo, losing 3kobo or 7.69percent of its day-open price.

Courteville Business Solutions Plc also dropped from 55kobo to N51, down by 4kobo or 7.27percent; while NPF Microfinance Bank decreased from N2.20 to N2.08, losing 12kobo or 5.45percent.

The record negative close on Monday pushed market’s year-to-date (YtD) positive return to new low of +10.18percent.

Fidelity Bank, Access Bank, Transcorp, Sterling Bank and GTCO were most traded stock on the Exchange. In 5,619 deals, investors exchanged 338,025,487 units valued at N5.675billion.