Increased Sell Pressure Costs Stock Market 1.04%

Trade performance on the Nigerian stock market ended the week on a negative note following intense sell pressure.

The market capitalization plunged by N88 billion to close at N8.403 trillion when compared with the N8.491 trillion posted the previous week.

Capital market analysts noted that the sell-offs in heavyweight counters like Dangote Cement, Nigerian Breweries, and Nestle on Tuesday and Wednesday overshadowed gains in the other three sessions. Also, market activities decreased from previous week as volume dipped by 14.56 per cent to 1.20 billion shares valued at N9.64 billion in 13,712 deals.

For the week under review, only African Alliance Insurance came out with its financial result. The company released its audited outstanding results for December 31, 2014, first quarter March 2015, second quarter ended June 2015, and the third quarter for the period ended September 2015. It declared a 72.50 per cent fall in profit after tax in the third quarter.

Market breadth for the week was negative with 22 gainers and 37 decliners. An analysis of the price movement chart indicated that Seplat topped the gainers’ table by 19.98 per cent to close at N302.48 per share. May & Baker came second with a gain of 17.50 per cent to close at 94 kobo, while Glaxosmith appreciated by 15.70 per cent to close at N24.19 per share.

On the other hand, Unity Bank led the losers’ chart by 11.76 per cent to close at 60 kobo per share. Portland Paints trailed with a loss of 10.16 per cent to close at N3.36 while Learn Africa declined by 10 per cent to close at 81 kobo per share.