Return of Profit Taking Drives NGX Index Down 0.06 Points, Led by Nestle and eTranzact – Due to increased profit-taking in the consumer goods sector, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited returned to the bears’ zone on Thursday, just one day after leaving.
Yesterday, selling of Nestle Nigeria and Honeywell Flour led to a 0.28 percent decline in the sector.
Even though traders took a profit on banking stocks, the sector as a whole still managed to end the day up 0.68 percent. While the energy sector was unchanged, the insurance counter strengthened by 0.51 percent and the industrial products index rose by 0.09 percent.
Due in large part to Nestle Nigeria’s poor performance, the local bourse ended the day down 0.06 percentage points, with the All-Share Index (ASI) falling 43.58 points to close at 67,335.30 points compared to Wednesday’s 67,378.88 points and market capitalization falling N24 billion to settle at N36.853 trillion compared to N36.877 trillion.
eTranzact was the worst-performing stock of the day, falling 10.00% to close at N7.20; Ikeja Hotel was next, falling 9.84% to N2.75; ABC Transport fell 9.78% to 83 Kobo; Guinea Insurance fell 9.38% to quote at 29 Kobo; and RT Briscoe slid 9.09% to 40 Kobo.
However, Chellarams was the best performer, increasing by 10.00% to sell at N3.85, followed by Learn Africa, which increased by 9.97% to N3.31, Academy Press, which increased by 9.94% to N1.88, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance, which increased by 9.52% to 92 Kobo, and Courteville, which increased by 9.26% to 59 Kobo.
According to Business Post, the market breadth indicator remained positive, suggesting that investor confidence was moderate despite the loss registered by the domestic bourse.
Compared to Wednesday’s trading volume of 569.6 million shares worth N8.7 billion transacted in 8,404 deals, Thursday’s trading volume of 788.5 million shares worth N14.2 billion transacted in 8,810 deals represented an increase of 38.43%, 63.220%, and 4.830%.
On Thursday, 301.0 million units of UBA were traded for N4.9 billion, 82.5 million units of Sterling Holdings were exchanged for N313.3 million, 46.0 million units of Consolidated Hallmark Insurance were sold for N37.8 million, 36.7 million units of Oando were transacted for N383.8 million, and 31.4 million units of Fidelity Bank were exchanged for N261.3 million.