Laggards force Nigerian stock market’s 0.53% dip

Nigeria’s stock market opened the new week on a negative note after decreasing by 0.53 percent or N297billion.

The share price of Seplat decreased by N329.10 or 10 percent on Monday, from N3,291.40 N2,962.30.

PZ and Nascon were other major laggards as the week opened. PZ decreased from N27.75 to N25, losing N2.75 or 9.91 percent, while Nascon share price decreased by N3 or 7.50 percent, from N40 to N37.

In the first-quarter (Q1) of 2024, Seplat Energy reported profit before tax (PBT) of N103.5billion as against N39.5billion in Q1’23.

At the close of trading on Monday, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation decreased further to 97,708.74 points and N55.264trillion respectively as against preceding trading day’s 98,233.76 points and N55.561trillion. The market’s year-to-date (YtD) return also decreased to 30.67 percent.

Shares of Notore, Access Corporation, Universal Insurance and UBA were actively traded as investors in 8,607 deals exchanged 439,100,001 shares worth N11.376billion.

“We expect activities in the fixed income market to continue to stand as a strong demotivator toward equities investments. We expect April-2024 Inflation report to stand as a key economic data that investors will watch out for this week,” said United Capital research analysts in their May 13 note.

Also, according to Meristem research analysts, “we anticipate that the bearish mood in the Nigerian Equities market will persist, as we do not foresee any positive triggers that could sway the market direction into the green zone.”

“Additionally, the FGN bond auction holding today might hinder flow of funds into the local bourse, especially considering the allure of attractive fixed income yields. Nonetheless, we expect bargain hunting on selected tickers, as they present enticing entry points for investors based on our valuation. Ultimately, we expect the NGX-ASI to shed further this week as negative sentiment prevail,” they added.