Nestle, United Capital, others push NGX-ASI lower by 0.31%

Nigeria’s equities market on Tuesday continued its movement into the negative territory as more investors sold stocks like Nestle, United Capital, and Africa Prudential.

Amid several corporate earnings releases, the stock market decreased by 0.31 percent or N171billion on Tuesday.

This record negative comes despite some analysts cautious optimism that the market will see increased activity as investors react to companies half year (H1) scorecards.

Nestle Nigeria decreased most from N920 to N830, after losing N90 or 9.78percent. United Capital followed after its share price dropped from N37.80 to N34.05, losing N3.75 or 9.92 percent, while that of Africa Prudential also decreased from N10.45 to N9.45, losing N1 or 9.57percent.

In 10,447 deals, investors exchanged 399,385,857 shares worth N8billion. Zenith Bank, Prestige Assurance, UBA, Veritas Kapital Assurance, and United Capital were actively traded stocks on Tuesday.

The stock market’s year-to-date (YtD) return decreased to 30.84 percent. This week, the market has decreased by 0.38 percent, while this month, it has dropped by 2.23 percent.

“This week, we anticipate a mixed performance in the equities market. Investors are likely to selectively invest in stocks that demonstrate strong fundamentals and significant upside potential.

“These decisions will be influenced by ongoing corporate actions and strategic positioning for dividend payments,” Futureview research analysts said in their July 29 note.

While analysts reiterate a cautious outlook on the market given the limited changes to the drivers of buy-side action, the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and Market Capitalisation decreased further from preceding trading day’s 98,132.15 points and N55.716trillion respectively to 97,830.65 points and N55.545trillion.