The weakness in the equities market persisted today as lingering sale pressure amid thin demand left the index lower by -0.24% to 28,896.25. The banks remained under pressure, albeit most closed flattish save for Zenith(-2.20%) and FBNH(-2.67%) which offset gains in FCMB(+5.00%) and Stanbic(+0.46%), while NB(-0.31%) and UACN(-3.57%) retreated from the consumers space. Also notable on the laggards table were penny stocks Japaul (-10.00%) and Chams( -8.33%), which caved in to profit taking following recent rallies from speculative trading by locals. In all, market breadth was negative, with almost four losers recorded for every one that gained.
Turnover was also low at N2.1bn ($5.7m), boosted mainly by offshore crosses in Guaranty ($0.7m); Stanbic($0.5m), NB($0.4m) and Access ($0.3m). The Ytd loss on the index further widened to -8.06%. We expect the market to gradually find support from bargain hunting activities in the next session.
