Market capitalisation drops by N72bn in NSE

Trading in the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for the second consecutive day maintained a downward trend as the market capitalisation lost N72 billion. The market capitalization, which opened at N10.076 trillion on Friday, lost N72 billion or 0.72 per cent to close at N10.004 trillion.
Also, the All-Share Index lost 215.89 points to close lower at 29,985.08 from the 30,200.97 attained on Thursday following price depreciation by major equities. Analysts attributed the bearish trend to exit of foreign investors due to drop in oil prices at the international market. They also attributed the development to the Feb.14 general elections.
Analysis of the price movement chart indicated that 25 equities recorded price depreciation. Julius Berger recorded the highest price loss of N2.24 to close at N42.65 per share. It was trailed by Nigerian Breweries by N2.19 to close at N141.65 while Zenith Bank dropped N1.39 to close at N16.10 per share. Flour Mill lost N1.90 to close at N34.20, while Cadbury depreciated by N1.25 to close at N39 per share. On the other hand, 14 equities recorded price appreciation.
Seplat topped the gainers’ chart by N15.90 to close at N333.90 per share. Lafarge Wapco garnered N2.74 to close at N87.99, while Betaglas grew by N1.49 to close at N31.49 per share. Presco increased by N1.45 to close at N30.45, while Dangote Cement gained 80k to close at N59.80 per share. In all, investors staked N4.85 billion on 423.194 million shares transacted in 3,753 deals. This was against 477.494 million shares worth N3.96 billion transacted in 4,417 deals on Thursday.
FBN Holdings emerged the most traded equity, accounting for 83.81 million shares valued at N585.74 million exchanged by investors in 588 deals. Fidelity Bank came second on the activity with 68.86 million shares worth N1.14 billion in 34 deals, while Access Bank accounted for 46.39 million shares valued N278.96 million in 179 deals.