The value of Nigeria’s listed stocks decreased further by N93billion at the close of trading on Tuesday July, 2. This latest decline represents 0.74 percent dip by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) All Share Index (ASI).
Tuesday’s outcome increased the record loss in just two trading days into this month of July to N250billion.
The market had lost N156billion on the first trading day in July. The value of listed stocks on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) which opened this month at N13.206trillion has decreased to N12.956trillion, NSE data showed.
The Year-to-Date (Ytd) return stood at -6.48percent. The All Share Index (ASI) closed at 29,395.14 points as against the preceding day close of 29,614.61 points. It was 29,966.87 points at the beginning of July.
As stock market continues to exhibit softness, analysts believe there is still no major catalyst to drive the market into the positive territory.
“We have consistently highlighted the attractiveness of the prices of some of the counters and we believe at the new lows we saw today (Tuesday), investors can begin to cherry pick while they stagger their purchase,” said Lagos-based Vetiva research in their July 2 equity market note to investors.
In the absence of any positive news, the analysts expect the market to trade in a similar pattern in Wednesday’s session.
At the sound of trade closing gong on Tuesday, Nestle Nigeria Plc led the basket of 23 decliners after its share price moved down from N1390 to N1345, losing N45 or 3.24percent, while Cement Company of Northern Nigeria Plc topped advancers league of thirteen after its share price rose from N12.95 to N14, adding N1.05 or 8.11percent.
The volume of stocks traded increased by 86.79percent on July 2, from 107.439 million on July 1 to 200.687 million, while the total value of stock traded increased by 153.66percent, from N1.138 billion to N2.887 billion in 4,856 deals.
GTBank Plc, UBA Plc, Lafarge Africa Plc, Zenith Bank Plc and FBN Holdings Plc were actively traded stocks on the Bourse.
Iheanyi Nwachukwu
