By Nse Anthony-Uko
ABUJA (Sundiata Post) – The suspension of some banks from foreign exchange market by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) took its toll on the stock market on Thursday as 11 banks depreciated leading to a loss of N172 billion off the market capitalisation.
The lead indicator, the NSE- All-Share Index (ASI) shed 500.51 absolute points or 1.80 per cent to close at 27,379.95 points. Similarly, the market capitalisation declined by N172 billion to close at N9.404 trillion.
The downturn was strongly impacted by price depreciation recorded in a handful of large capitalised stocks, amongst which are Dangote Cement, Zenith Bank, Forte Oil, Nigerian Breweries, Guaranty Trust Bank and Total Nigeria.
Analysts said that the bearish run seen in the equities market on Thursday can be attributed to sector wide profit booking which was most severe in the Industrial Goods sector hinged on the sell-offs.
They noted that, “On the back of the negative foreign exchange related news currently rocking the Financial services sector, we think that today’s trading session will be choppy with the bears likely to dominate, as investors close their books for the week.”
Market breadth closed negative with 11 gainers and 25 losers. CAP led the gainers table by 4.98 per cent to close at N28.66 per share. Continental Reinsurance and Livestock followed with a gain of 4.44 per cent each to close at 94 kobo each per share.
Also, Seven Up went up by 3.51 per cent to close at N113 and Sterling Bank rose by 3 per cent to close at N1.03 per share.
On the other hand, Skye Bank led the laggards’ table by 7.81 per cent to close at 59 kobo per share. Dangote Flour trailed with a loss of 4.89 per cent to close at N3.89, while Dangote Cement declined by 4.71 per cent to close at N172 per share.
Also, Aiico Insurance declined by 4.48 per cent to close at 64 kobo, while Dangote Sugar shed by 4.41 per cent to close at N6.50 per share.
Meanwhile, the total volume traded declined by 6.49 per cent to 215.34 million shares, valued at N1.42 billion, and traded in 2,939 deals. Transactions in the shares of Diamond Bank topped the activity chart with 54.46 million shares valued at N57.34 million. FBN Holdings followed with 42.67 million shares worth N132.3 million, while UBA traded 20.29 million shares valued at N90.62 million.
Guaranty Trust Bank traded 11.15 million shares worth N292.21 and Zenith Bank transacted 8.82 million shares valued at N136.88 million.