Nigerian stocks close in the red as NSEASI goes down 1.5%

The Nigerian equities market closed Monday in the red as benchmark index (NSEASI) fell 1.5 percent to settle at 41,988.18 points while year-to-date (YTD) return moderated to 9.8 percent from the over 13 percent recorded some weeks back

The day’s negative performance saw market capitalization paring N233.5 billion to closed at N15.1 trillion on account of downticks in bellwether stocks – DANGCEM (-3.3%), NESTLE (-4.2%) and ZENITH (-2.2%).

Market activity level softened as volume and value traded 53.4 percent and 71.1 percent to 287.1 million units and N2.3 billion respectively.

Sector performance was mixed as two of five indices under coverage trended southwards, two closed in the green and the other flat. The consumer goods index topped the losers chart, down 1.6 percent following losses in NESTLE (-4.2%) and NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-1.6%).

The industrial goods index trailed, shedding 1.5 percent largely on sell pressures in DANGCEM (-3.3%). On the flip side, the insurance and banking indices rose 74bps and 1bp respectively on account of price appreciation in LINKASSURE (+9.1%), MANSARD (+4.9%), GUARANTY (+2.2%) and FIDELITY (+2.5%).

The Oil & Gas index closed the day flat.

Investor sentiment measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) improved to 0.5x from 0.3x recorded the previous Friday. The top performing stocks were LINKASSURE (+9.1%), LIVESTOCK (+5.0%) and FIDSON (+4.9%) while the worst performers were PZ (-8.0%), LASACO (-6.1%) and ENAMELWA (-4.9%).

“Although market breadth is still negative, its advancement is an indication of strengthening investor sentiment. Against this backdrop, we expect market to perform positively in subsequent sessions this week,” analysts at Afrinvest noted.