The Nigerian equities market witnessed another lackluster trading session as the NSEASI relapsed by 59bps on account of sustained sell pressure. Weakness in the equities broad benchmark indicator was largely due unimpressive performance in the banking space and Industrial sector. Specifically, Guaranty (-3.43%), UBN (-4.84%), Stanbic (-2.35%), Zenithbank (-1.40%) and UBA (-1.80%) closed lower while weakness in Wapco (-2.27%) and Buacement (-0.53%) brought the industrial goods tracker on its knees. Other notable laggards in the session were Flourmill (-5.79%),Glaxosmith (-9.17%), Total (-8.55%) and Oando (-2.93%).
Market turnover was N4.8bn ($13.3 mln), buoyed by offshore crosses in Stanbic ($4.8mln), NB ($0.43 mln) and mixed interest in Zenithbank ($0.65 mln). The NSEASI ytd return tapered to +9.45%. We expect the market to maintain this trading pattern in the next session.