Banking, Insurance Stocks Drag Down Market By N83bn

The Nigerian stock market resumed the week on a bearish note as banking and insurance stocks triggered an N83.13bn loss at the end of trading on Monday.

The All-Share Index of Nigerian Exchange Limited dropped by 0.38 per cent to 42,008.33 basis points while the market capitalisation declined to N21.92tn from N22tn.

However, the market activities were bullish as the total volume and value traded rose by 133.31 per cent and 84.34 per cent respectively.

A total of 422.18 million units valued at N4.47bn was transacted in 5,059 deals, compared to 180.95 million shares worth N2.43bn in 4,019 deals on Friday.

All sectors declined at the end of trading on the floor of the exchange on Monday. The NGX Insurance, Banking, Industrial Goods, Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas indices fell by 1.77 per cent, 1.37 per cent, 0.58 per cent, 0.34 per cent and 0.11 per cent respectively.

The market sentiment, as measured by market breadth, was negative as 10 firms gained compared to 24 losers.

Royal Exchange Plc topped the gainers’ chart with a 9.43 per cent gain to close at N0.58 per share. UPDC Plc followed with a 9.09 per cent increase, closing at N1.08 per share.

Other top gainers on Monday were Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc, Meyer Plc and Champion Breweries Plc.

The major losers were Lafarge Africa Plc (9.94 per cent), Linkage Assurance Plc (8.93 per cent), and Associated Bus Company Plc (8.82 per cent).