Sentiments remained mixed in the Nigerian equities space today and the NSEASI slipped marginally lower by -0.17% to close at 26,944.32. Consumer goods stocks were at the forefront of the gainers table- Okomuoil (+9.87%); Unilever (+4.24%); Flourmill (+4.11%) and UACN (+2.74%) mostly on local demand amid thin supply. They were supported by late upticks in a few banks- Access (+1.09%); Zenith(+1.08%) and UBA (+0.71%), but were outweighed by the laggards-Guinness (-6.45%); Stanbic (-3.54%) post a cross trade; Fidelity (-3.83%); WAPCO (-1.07%); and MTNN (-0.83%).
Market activities were low and turnover was flattish at N2.9bn ($7.9m), buoyed by off shore related block trades in Guaranty ($1.8m); NB($0.7m); Stanbic ($0.3m) and by mixed interests in Dangcem ($0.4m). The YTD loss on the index further widened to -14.27%. We expect the market to maintain a similar trading pattern in the next session.