Decline in Seplat (-3.57%) on small volumes early in the session was largely responsible for the -16bps retreat on the equities market index. Activity levels remained subdued on persisting investor apathy for most part of the day. Zenith (-0.81%) alongside other laggards – ETI (-2.14%) and CCNN (-5.00%) contributed to the lacklustre performance. On the flip side, Guaranty (+0.93%), Access (+1.67%) and FBNH (+0.62%) remained the toast of bargain hunting moves whilst Dangcem (+0.26%) inched higher into the close.
Market turnover fell to N2.8bn ($7.7m), buoyed by crosses in Zenith ($1.2m) and Guaranty ($0.9m) which involved offshore interests. Ytd gain on the index contracted to +2.20%. We expect the market to maintain the same trading pattern.