Nigeria’s equities market on Wednesday recorded its first negative close this week as investors continued to reduce their exposure to risk and focus on protecting their capital.
Stocks like MTNN, Neimeth, Tantalizer and Jaiz Bank were mostly offered for sale on the Lagos-based, causing their share prices to decrease more than others.
The market decreased by 0.32 percent or N176billion at the close of trading. Year-to-date (YtD) return also dropped to +28.66 percent.
The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and equities market capitalisation depreciated from preceding trading day’s highs of 96,510.13 points and N55.437trillion respectively to 96,203.65points and N55.261 trillion.
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Neimeth decreased from N2.20 to N2, down by 20kobo or 9.09percent. Tantalizer decreased from 81kobo to 74kobo, losing 7kobo or 8.64 percent.
MTN N was also down from N199.80 to N184, shedding N15.80 or 7.91percent, Thomas Wyatt decreased from day open high of N1.70 to N1.58, losing 12kobo or 7.06 percent, while Jaiz Bank dropped from a high of N2.40 to N2.25, losing 15kobo or 6.25 percent.
Stocks like Universal Insurance, Japaul Gold, Prestige Assurance, Tantalizer, and Chams were actively traded.
In 10,148 deals, equities dealers exchanged 446,609,595 shares worth N4.531billion.
“We expect the market is showcase cautious optimism for Wednesday. That said, the mixed sentiment observed in the previous sessions suggests that any upside may be limited as investors retain a risk-off stance on the market,” Lagos-based Vetiva analysts had said ahead of Wednesday’s trading.
