Today’s session was generally quiet, whilst the ASI ended on a negative note as trading activities resumed for the new month. The index posted -1.14% underpinned by profit taking in Total (-4.86%) and sell pressure in Dangcem (-0.20%) . Sustained sell pressure in ETI (-9.94%), coupled with loses in Guaranty (-7.53%), Access (-3.90%), UBA (-1.63%) and Zenithbank (-1.60%) dragged down the banking tracker. In the same vein, NB (-6.67%) and UACN (6.67%) were prominent laggards in the consumers space while MRS (-9.84%), Conoil (-9.82%) and Mobil (-9.45%) depreciated in the Oil & Gas sector.
Market turnover was low at N2.5bn ($7.0m), buoyed by foreign related crosses in Dangcem ($1.23mln), Guaranty ($1.24 mln) and mixed interests trades in Nascon ($0.75 mln). The Ytd loss on the index dipped to -13.09%. We expect the market to maintain the sideways performance in the coming session.