Major losses dampen indices by 0.1%

The losses recorded by major equities quoted on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday halted the four-day appreciation shriek recorded in the market.Subsequently, the market capitalisation of the listed equities, which stood at N6.283tn at the close of trading on Tuesday, fell by 0.12 per cent or N8bn to N6.275tn at the close of trading.Similarly, the NSE All-Share Index dropped by 0.1 per cent or 22.66 basis points to close at 19,849.31, down from the 19,871.97 figure recorded the preceding day.The NSE Food/Beverages Index fell to 548.39 basis points, down from 555.93 recorded the preceding day, while the NSE Oil/Gas Index dropped to 230.80 points, from 234.02 points a day before.Analysts attributed the losses to the slide in the prices of major stocks on Wednesday.At the close of activities, a total of 28 stocks shed prices, compared to 15 stocks that recorded price appreciation.Julius Berger Nigeria Plc lost the highest, shedding 4.9 per cent or N1.73 to close at N32.96 per share.Oando Plc followed on the losers chart, losing by 4.9 per cent or N1.21 to close at N23.09 per share. Diamond Bank Plc, Dangote Sugar Plc, Eterna Oil and Gas Plc and Learn Nigeria Plc also lost 4.9 per cent each to close at N2.41, N4.03, N3.29 and N3.10 per share, respectively.Honeywell Flour Mills Plc and United Bank for Africa Plc also lost 4.8 per cent each to close at N2.55 and N2.17 per share in that order.Stanbic IBTC Bank Plc led on the price gainers chart, rising by 4.9 per cent or 34 kobo to close at N7.28 per share. Fidson Healthcare Plc and Guaranty Trust Assurance Plc rose by 4.2 per cent and 4.1 per cent to close at 99 and N1.50 per share, respectively.Unilever Nigeria Plc and Lafarge WAPCO Plc gained 3.4 per cent and 3.1 per cent, respectively, to close at N27 and N44.15 per share in that order.The banking sub-sector led the activity chart, as it accounted for 70 per cent of total turnover traded.In the sub-sector, investors exchanged 257.35 million shares, valued at N1.817bn in 1,764 deals.Turnover in the sub-sector was driven by trading in the shares of Zenith Bank Plc and UBA, which accounted for 71 per cent of the sub-sectors volume.In all, investors exchanged 366.05 million shares, valued at N2.686bn in 3,457 transactions.
Click here to read full news..