…The benchmark index, the NGX All-Share Index dipped Thursday by 0.2% to close at 97,100.36 points, with the MTD and YTD returns settling at -0.7% and +29.9%, respectively.
…The market capitalization shed N56.35 billion to close at N55.13 trillion.
THUR AUG 15 2024-theGBJournal| Nigerian equities market closed lower Thursday, maintaining the week’s negative momentum as investors digest the lower-than-expected inflation report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The benchmark index, the NGX All-Share Index dipped by 0.2% to close at 97,100.36 points, with the MTD and YTD returns settling at -0.7% and +29.9%, respectively.
The market capitalization shed N56.35 billion to close at N55.13 trillion.
The stocks were shredded by losses in FBNH (-2.31%), ACCESSCORP (-1.29%) and TRANSCORP (-0.46%) despite gains GTCO (+0.11%), ZENITHBANK (+2.30%) and UBA (+2.51%). Consequently, the market is on track for a weekly decline.
The total volume traded decreased by 14.0% to 271.26 million units, valued at N3.52 billion, and exchanged in 7,233 deals.
VERITASKAP was the most traded stock by volume at 33.38 million units, while GTCO was the most traded stock by value at N725.23 million.
Analysing by sector, the Oil and Gas (+2.1%) and Insurance (+0.4%) indices inched higher, while the Banking and Industrial Goods indices closed flat. Meanwhile, the Consumer Goods (-0.6%) index was the sole loser of the day.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative (0.5x), as 31 tickers lost relative to 14 gainers.
OANDO (-9.9%) and ABCTRANS (-9.5%) topped the losers’ list, while NEIMETH (+9.6%) and TOTAL (+8.8%) recorded the most significant gains of the day.
Stocks remained unresponsive despite the cooler-than expected annual inflation rate of 33.40% y/y in July 2024, the first downward trend for since December 2022.
Meanwhile, the naira appreciated by 1.4% to N1,564.48/US$ at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
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