Investors lost N37bn at Nigerian Stock Exchange amid sell-offs in banks

Investors at the Nigerian Stock Exchange recorded N37 billion in the domestic equity market driven by sell-offs in Tier One banking stocks on Friday.

This comes as market capitalization at NGX opened at N56.615 trillion, shed N37 billion or 0.07 per cent to close at N56.578 trillion.

Also, the All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 0.07 per cent or 65 points, ending the day at 98,458.68 points, down from 98,523.56 points.

Accordingly, the year-to-date return decreased by 31.68 percent.

Sell pressure in Zenith Bank, FBN Holdings, and FCMB Group, alongside International Breweries, and Unilever, among others, dragged the market down.

Market breadth closed negative with 26 losers and 21 gainers on the floor of the exchange.

On the losers’ table, Caverton led by 9.76 percent to close at N2.68, and Northern Nigeria Flour Mills trailed by 9.50 percent to close at N31.90 per share.

UPL declined by 8.85 percent to close at N2.37, McNichols dropped 8.57 percent to close at N1.60, while International Breweries lost 6.96 percent to close at N4.01 per share.

On the flip side, Beta Glas led the gainers’ chart by 10 percent to close at N48.96, and Meyer Plc followed by 9.93 percent to close at N7.75 per share.

Deep Capital Management and Trust Plc advanced by 9.90 percent to close at N1.11, and Ellah Lakes Plc gained 9.82 percent to close at N4.92 per share.

Also, Abbey Mortgage Bank Plc rose by 9.65 percent to close at N2.50 per share.

Further analysis of the market activities showed trade turnover settled higher, relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 0.72 percent.

A total of 797.21 million shares valued at N6.66 billion were exchanged in 7,764 deals, as against 344.36 million shares valued at N6.61 billion traded in 9,005 deals on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Japaul Gold led the activity chart in volume and value with 591.19 million shares worth N1.47 billion.