NGX-ASI down by 0.44% as stocks shed N284bn

Investors booked about N284billion loss on Tuesday as Nigeria’s equities market decreased by 0.44 percent.

Major laggards like MRS, Red Star Express, Learn Africa, and Veritas Kapital contributed to the negative close recorded at the Lagos Bourse.

Investors who came to take profit in these stocks caused the market to defy analysts earlier expectation after a positive start to the week. This week, the market has risen by 0.35 percent.

“We expect investors to keep a close eye on corporate earnings releases for guidance on the market, as we anticipate another round of bullish trading in the market with the banks leading the way,” Vetiva Research analysts said ahead of Tuesday’s trading.

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MRS decreased from N180.90 to N162.90, losing N18 or 9.95 percent. Red Star Express also decreased from N5.05 to N4.55, losing 50kobo or 9.90percent, while Learn Africa dropped from N4.99 to N4.50, losing 49kobo or 9.82 percent.

Stocks like Access Holdings, Sterling, Zenith Bank, UBA and FCMB Group were actively traded as investors in 15,561 deals exchanged 542,229,692 shares worth N13.636billion.

The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) All-Share Index (ASI) and equities Market Capitalisation decreased from preceding day’s highs of 104,418.94 points and N64.440trillion respectively to 103,958.75 points and N64.156trillion. Despite the negative close on Tuesday, the market has risen this year by 1 percent.