The domestic stock market opened the week on a mixed note yesterday, as the All-Share Index (ASI) dipped slightly by 0.04 per cent.
The ASI declined by 41.70 points, reflecting a 0.04 per cent drop, closing at 105,891.33 points. However, market capitalization saw a significant rise of 0.73 per cent, increasing by N477 billion to reach N66.069 trillion. This increase was primarily driven by the listing of 9.67 billion ordinary shares of Zenith Bank, following its capital offerings.
Despite this, the overall market decline was influenced by losses in medium and large-cap stocks, including Julius Berger Nigeria, Zenith Bank, United Bank for Africa (UBA), Fidelity Bank, and Guaranty Trust Holding Company (GTCO).
Looking ahead, United Capital Plc projected that the equities market would likely maintain positive momentum as investors position themselves for the 2024 full-year earnings season and potential corporate announcements. However, it also cautioned that high-interest rates in the fixed-income market could sustain bearish sentiments.
Investor sentiment, measured by market breadth, remained positive, with 44 stocks advancing while 25 declined. The top gainers included Beta Glass, Smart Products Nigeria, and Stanbic IBTC Holdings, each rising by 10 per cent to close at N95.15, 22 kobo, and N68.20 per share, respectively.
Honeywell Flour Mills followed with a 9.98 per cent increase, closing at N10.47, while Eterna and Northern Nigeria Flour Mills (NNFM) each gained 9.96 per cent, closing at N40.30 and N80.60 per share, respectively.
Conversely, International Energy Insurance led the losers’ chart, dropping 10 per cent to close at N2.25 per share. R.T. Briscoe Nigeria followed with a 9.63 per cent decline to N2.44, while Julius Berger fell by 8.44 per cent to close at N128.00 per share.
Deap Capital Management and Trust depreciated by 8.26 per cent to N1.00, while DAAR Communications declined by 7.41 per cent to close at 75 kobo per share.
Additionally, trading activity surged as the total volume of shares traded increased by 21.15 per cent to 567.289 million units, valued at N10.414 billion, across 17,843 deals.
Secure Electronic Technology led the trading volume chart with 84.073 million shares worth N55.194 million, followed by Fidelity Bank with 67.831 million shares valued at N1.361 billion. Access Holdings recorded 40.206 million shares worth N1.140 billion, while UPDC and AIICO Insurance traded 36.649 million and 27.233 million shares, valued at N103.787 million and N47.453 million, respectively.