Sustained profit taking in select counters dragged the NSEASI southward by -0.33% to settle at 25,497.32 points on the day. Banking stocks came under sell pressure as the sector’s tracker dipped by -3.42% on account of weakness in Guaranty (-6.18%), UBN (-3.92%), Zenithbank (-2.31%), Access (-1.42%) and ETI (-1.19%). Though most stocks closed flattish, MTNN (+0.76%), NB (+2.50%) CAP (+2.65%) and FBNH (+2.02%) advanced in the session.
Market turnover was low at N2.04bn ($5.29mln), dominated by trades in Guaranty and Zenithbank. The NSEASI ytd return dipped to -5.01%. We expect the market to trade with similar sentiments in the next session.