Sell-offs Persist As Market Shed N60bn

The equities market sustained a downtrend as market capitalisation declined by N57.9 billion to settle at N20.3 trillion while year to date loss worsened to -4.1 percent.

The All-Share Index declined 29bps to settle at 38,601.83 points due to sell-offs in MTNN (-2.4%), Guinness (-9.9%) and Zenith (-0.5%).

Trading activity improved as volume and value traded rose 7.6% and 113.3% respectively to 208.7 million units and N2.9bn.

The most traded stocks by volume were Fidelity (38.6m units), Guaranty (32.8m units), and FBNH (16.9m units) while Guaranty (N951.3m), Dangote Cement (N412.3m), and MTNN (N360.6m) led by value. Across sectors, performance was bearish as 4 indices closed lower.

Investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth remained at 0.8x, same as in the previous session as 15 stocks advanced against 18 decliners.

Analysts are not optimistic of significant gains in the market this week as investor sentiment remains sub-par.