Decline in index heavyweights – Dangcem (-1.81%), MTNN (-1.49%) and Zenith (0.81%) pulled the market performance tracker into the negative territory as the index closed -66bps lower. Activity level was subdued across board as participants proceeded indifferently towards the market. The consumers index was pulled lower due to the lacklustre performance in Unilever (-3.45%), Flourmill (-5.59%) and GSK (-4.22%) though gains in Nestle (+0.40%) on small volumes salvaged some points within the space. However, gains FBNH (+3.12%), UBA (+1.69%) and Guaranty (+0.19%) dictated the direction of the banking index whilst FO (+6.82%) continued its recovery among the oil and gas.
Turnover was abysmal at N1.65bn ($4.5m) buoyed by offshore related trades in Dangcem whilst locals dominated crosses in Wapco. Ytd return loss widened to -12.74%. We expect the market to trade sideways in the next session.
