NGX starts April in red as ASI dips 0.11% to N66.19trn amidst cautious trading

Onome Amuge

The Nigerian stock market began the new month on a downward note, with the All-Share Index (ASI) falling 0.11 percent to close at 105,547.16 points. This dip trimmed the year-to-date return to 2.55 percent. 

Consequently, market capitalisation also contracted by 0.11 percent, settling at N66.19 trillion, translating to a N71.16 billion decline in the value of equities by the end of the trading session.

Investor appetite was down across the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX), evidenced by a negative market breadth where decliners outnumbered advancers by 33 to 25. 

Despite the overall bearish sentiment, select counters experienced significant gains, with UPDCREIT leading the pack with a 10.00 percent appreciation, followed closely by AFRIPRUD and VFDGROUP, both registering a 9.96 percent increase. UNIONDICON also saw a notable rise of 9.28 percent, while MAYBAKER climbed by 6.17 percent. 

Conversely, UACN recorded the largest decline of 10.00 percent, with UPL (-9.95%), SUNUASSURE (-9.92%), CONHALLPLC (-9.78%), and LEARNAFRICA (-9.64%) also featuring on the losers’ chart.

Across the sectoral landscape of the NGX, performance was predominantly bearish. The Insurance sector bore the brunt of the losses, declining 2.61 percent. The Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas sectors also experienced downward pressure, shedding 0.01 percent and 0.49 percent, respectively. Meanwhile, the Banking sector offered a slight reprieve, posting a marginal gain of 0.07 percent, while the Industrial Goods sector remained flat.

Despite a general air of caution on the floor of the NGX, trading was quite subdued. While overall transaction volume contracted by 19.99 percent and the total value of trades declined by 44.41 percent, there was a notable surge in the number of executed deals, climbing by 30.52 percent to 17,286. This heightened activity resulted in a total traded value of N12.02 billion, exchanged across a volume of 438.09 million units.