Trading activities on the Nigerian equities market closed on a negative note as renewed sell pressure overwhelmed bargain hunts seen in the early hours of the session. The broad equity index ASI depreciated by 3.35% due to weakness in bellwethers. Market heavy weights Dangcem (-10.00%)and Nestle (-10.00%) succumbed to sell pressure as the duo contributed the most to index southward movement. Other laggards were Nascon (-9.83%), Conoil (-9.88%), ETI (-8,49%), Zenithbank (-7.66%), Access (-6.52%) , Wapco (-3.66%), NB (-0.30%) and Guaranty (-0.25%) at the close of the session.
Meanwhile market turnover was impressive at N17.65bn ($48mln), boosted by mixed interest in Guaranty, Zenithbank, Nestle and FBNH. The NSEASI ytd return accelerated to -12.18%. While we expect the bearish stance to persist, bargain hunts may give the market support in the coming session.
