Heavy share price depreciation suffered by Airtel Africa and 10 stocks dragged market capitalisation further by N553 billion as the bourse extended losses to three consecutive sessions yesterday.
At the close of transactions last week, the all-share index (ASI) decreased by 1,016.42 absolute points, representing a dip of 1.88 per cent to close at 53,018.97 points.
Similarly, the market capitalisation lost N553 billion to close at N28.883 trillion.
The downturn was triggered by losses recorded in medium and large capitalised stocks, amongst which are Airtel Africa, Flour Mills of Nigeria, Unilever Nigeria, Multiverse Mining and Exploration and Champion Breweries.
Analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “Despite the recovery seen in most of the sectors today, decline in a large-cap counter eroded the day’s gains, as the market extended in a bearish run.
“With dividend qualification dates of these counters approaching, we expect to see increased activity, as investors weigh the option of profit taking or holding their positions to earn dividends.”
Also, market breadth closed negative, with 11 gainers versus 14 losers. Wapic Insurance recorded the highest price gain of 7.50 per cent to close at 43 kobo. Mutual Benefits Assurance followed with a gain 6.25 per cent to close at 34 kobo, while CWG rose 5.26 per cent to close at N1.
Eterna went up by 4.46 per cent to close at N5.85, while Cutix appreciated by 3.6 per cent to close at N2.3.
Chams depreciated by 4.17 per cent to close at 23 kobo while Champion Breweries lost 3.85 per cent to close at N5. First City Monument Bank shed 3.75 per cent to close at N3.85 kobo. Japaul Gold declined by 3.45 per cent to close at 28 kobo. Unilever lost 3.33 per cent to close at N13.05 kobo. Transnational Corporation also lost 1.43 per cent to close at N1.38 kobo.
On the other hand, Airtel Africa led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent to close at N1, 331.1. Ikeja Hotel followed with a decline of 9.85 per cent each to close at N1.19 kobo while Multiverse Mining and Exploration lost 9.59 per cent to close at N2.64 kobo.
Royal Exchange lost 9.33 per cent to close at 68 kobo, while Flour Mills of Nigeria shed 4.84 per cent to close at N29.50 kobo. UPDC Reits appreciated by 1.59 per cent to close at N3.20 kobo. Zenith Bank increased by 1.39 per cent to close at N25.50 kobo.
Oando garnered 90 kobo to close at N5.61 kobo. Lasaco improved by 84 per cent to close at N1.20 kobo. Lafarge WAPCO increased by 78 per cent to close at N26. GTCO also appreciated by 41 per cent to close at N24.70 kobo.
The total volume traded declined by 33.50 per cent to 197.331 million units, valued at N2.675 billion, and exchanged in 3,506 deals. Transactions in the shares of United Bank for Africa (UBA) topped the activity chart with 61.129 million shares valued at N510.926 million. Transnational Corporation (Transcorp) followed with 23.631 million shares worth N32.671 million, while Zenith Bank traded 12.369 million shares valued at N314.254 million.
Oando traded 9.452 million shares valued at N53.087 million, while Mutual Benefits Assurance transacted 4.215 million shares worth N1.39 million.
