Decline in Seplat (-7.86%) and Stanbic (-4.26%) post dividend mark down alongside late sell down in Dangcem (-0.69%) pulled the index into the negative territory by -50bps. However, market breadth remained positive as locals continued to whet their appetite in Access (+6.15%) post-merger and select tier II banks. The big banks – Guaranty (-1.77%) and Zenith (-0.90%) buckled under selling pressure whilst gains in PZ (+2.14%) on modest volumes influenced the positive performance of the consumers.
Market turnover rose to N2.5bn ($6.8m), dominated by crosses in Zenith ($1.1m) involving mixed interests. Ytd loss on the index widened to -1.73%. We expect the market to trade sideways.
