Nestle, Eterna, Fidson, others cause market’s negative start to new week

Nigeria’s equities market closed in the negative region on Monday, confirming some analysts expectation that the bearish sentiment will persist ahead of MPC decisions.

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation decreased by 0.09percent or N51billion, from preceding trading day’s 102,088.07 points and N55.861trillion to 101,995.21 points and N55.810trillion.

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“We still anticipate another rocky trading week this week, as market participants look forward to the first MPC meeting for the year,” said Lagos-based Vetiva research analysts. They noted that the market had recorded positive sentiment on Friday’s close as it appeared “slightly stable following the rate hikes in the fixed income space.”

Stocks that caused the market’s negative start to new week are Nestle Nigeria, Eterna, Fidson, CWG and Sunu Assurances.

Nestle share price dropped most from N1100 to N990, losing N110 or 10percent, followed by that of Eterna which moved from a high of N17.55 to N15.80, shedding N1.75 or 9.97percent.

Fidson went down from N16.80 to N15.15, shedding N1.65 or 9.82percent of its day-open valued. CWG decreased from N6.80 to N6.15, losing 65kobo or 9.56percent, while Sunu Assurances dropped by 19kobo or 9.09percent, from N2.09 to N1.90.

FBN Holdings, UBA, Zenith Bank, Fidelity Bank and Veritas Kapital Assurance were most traded stocks on the Bourse.

In 9,957 deals, investors exchanged 294,324,992 shares worth N6.722billion.

“We anticipate the bearish sentiments amongst investors to persist in the local equities market given the recent developments in the fixed-income market.

“The impact of the high yields in the fixed-income market will continue to drive sell-offs as investors switch their asset classes to less risky assets,” according to Lagos-based United Capital research analysts.

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They noted that other headwinds to the equities market are the uncertainties surrounding interest rate decision and the possible hike in Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) by the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) at their meeting scheduled for today Monday, February 26 and Tuesday February 27.