Equities trading activities for the new month resumed on a subdued note today as investor apathy persisted. The NSEASI however rose by +0.47% to close at 24,595.05, thanks mainly to upticks in some major cement counters, Buacem(8.53%) and WAPCO (+5.00%) which recouped some of their losses from the previous session, alongside upticks in Cadbury (+9.63%) and PZ (+2.50%) from the consumer goods space. These muted the generally bearish market undertone observed throughout the day, where a number of other key market names ticked lower from low demand levels. Major laggards on the day included Guinness (-3.45%); Zenith(-2.48%); Dangsugar (-2.50%); MTNN(-1.28%) and Guaranty(-0.91%).
Market turnover was consequently low at N1.04bn ($2.7m) with no major block trades observed. The Ytd return on the index stood at -8.37%. We expect the market to trade in a similar pattern in the coming session.