Sustained profit taking in large caps pares Nigeria’s stocks index 0.08% as bears rule, three days in a row

The Nigerian bourse’s benchmark index maintained its negative momentum at the end of Tuesday’s session, shedding 8 basis points (bps) to close at 34,846.82 points, just as year-to-date gain retreated to 29.7 percent.

Market performance was largely influenced by sustained profit taking in large caps – NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-1.2%), FBNH (-5.0%) and SEPLAT (-1.5%), which helped dragged market performance south. This led to market capitalization declining by N9.1 billion to close at N12.0 trillion.

However, activity level improved as volume and value traded rose 7.3 percent and 84.0 percent to 174.7 million units and N2.8 billion respectively.

Performance across sectors was mixed as three of five indices trended upwards: The oil & gas index led decliners with 1.0 percent loss on the back of sustained profit taking in SEPLAT (-1.5%), while the industrial goods index trailed, shedding 0.4 percent on account of WAPCO (-0.9%).

Similarly, the consumer goods index dipped 0.2 percent owing to losses in NIGERIAN BREWERIES (-1.2%) and PZ (-4.0%).

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On the flipside, the insurance index gained 0.9 percent on the back of sustained interest in MANSARD (+4.7%) and LINKASSURE (+5.0%) just as the banking Index closed 0.4% higher due to GUARANTY (+1.4%).

Investor sentiment weakened further Tuesday as market breadth moderated to 0.5x (from 0.8x Monday) after 13 stock advanced against 24 declining stocks.

LINKASSURE (+5.0%), MANSARD (+4.7%) and NESTLE (+2.0%) topped the gainers’ chart while FBNH (-5.0%), 7UP (-5.0%) and NEM (-4.9%) led laggards.

Following sustained profit taking in the market, analysts are expecting a rebound in the near term. This view is further reinforced by the fact that the benchmark Index currently trades at a relative strength index (RSI) of 37.8, which, according to them, is close to the over-sold region.