Stock Market Drop Triggers Worries for Investors
At the onset of the final trading week in November, the stock market on the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) experienced a downturn. This decline was primarily driven by profit-taking in BUA Foods Plc and 19 other companies, resulting in a reduction in market capitalisation by N132.4 billion. As a result, the NGX All-Share Index experienced a drop, closing at 71,353.81 basis points, and the overall market capitalisation value fell to N39.040 trillion with Union Bank of Nigeria (UBN) removing its shares from the Exchange.
The sectoral performance exhibited mixed results: the NGX Banking rose by 1.71 per cent and NGX Industrial added 0.01 per cent, while the NGX Consumer Goods dropped by 0.99 per cent. Meanwhile, the NGX Oil and Gas sectors remained unchanged.
The investor sentiment, as measured by market breadth, remained positive, with 32 stocks advancing and 20 declining. Notable price gains were observed in FBNH, John Holt, and Tantalizers, each recording a gain of 10 per cent. On the other hand, eTranzact International, Unity Bank, Omatek Ventures, R.T. Briscoe Nigeria, and Guinea Insurance were among the top losers, with significant declines in their share prices.
The total trading volume increased by 28.1 per cent, reaching 746.67 million units valued at N5.95 billion, traded across 9,267 deals. Universal Insurance, Access Holdings, and Unity Bank were the most actively traded stocks.
Looking ahead, United Capital Plc forecasts mixed sentiments towards listed corporates. The ASI is anticipated to create a support level between 69,215 points and 70,000 points, with sustained buying interest towards banks and other fundamentally strong stocks.
