Dangote Cement and MTN Shares lower the market by 2.26%

Dangote Cement, MTN Nigeria, and 13 other companies’ shares weakened the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by 2.26 percent on Tuesday as investors continued to restructure their portfolios to lower their equity investment risk.

The continued sell-offs in this asset class down the All-Share Index (ASI) yesterday by 1,139.02 points to 49,350.71 points from 50,489.73 points, while market capitalization fell by N615 billion to N26.618 trillion from N27.233 trillion.

Cornerstone Insurance fell the most on Tuesday, falling 9.33 percent to settle at 68 Kobo, followed by Dangote Cement, which fell 9.06 percent to N241.00.

Japaul went down by 8.11 per cent to 34 Kobo, Sovereign Trust Insurance reduced by 7.41 per cent to 25 Kobo, while Stanbic IBTC retreated by 6.45 per cent to N29.00.

On the other side, Prestige Assurance gained 10.00 per cent to quote at 44 Kobo, NEM Insurance grew by 10.00 per cent to N3.74, Ellah Lakes rose by 9.78 per cent to N3.93, Multiverse appreciated by 9.57 per cent to N2.06, while Ikeja Hotel improved by 9.28 per cent to N1.06.

In the end, 15 stocks weakened in value during the session, while 12 stocks gained strength, indicating a negative market breadth and a weak investor sentiment.

Analysis of the sectorial performance showed that the industrial goods counter was responsible for the loss yesterday as its index went down by 4.83 per cent. Its consumer goods cousin fell by 0.29 per cent, while the energy sector dropped 0.27 per cent, with the banking and insurance sectors appreciating by 0.60 per cent and 0.24 per cent, respectively.

Japaul was the most active during the trading day, selling 23.2 million equities worth N9.0 million, followed by AIICO Insurance, exchanging 14.9 million shares worth N8.5 million. Sterling Bank sold 14.3 million shares for N21.4 million, Sovereign Trust Insurance sold 10.1 million shares for N2.6 million, and GTCO sold 7.9 million shares for N161.0 million.

At the closing of trades, 140.6 million shares worth N1.6 billion were traded in 3,895 transactions, compared to 207.2 million shares worth N2.1 billion traded in 4,234 transactions on Monday. This meant that the volume of shares, share value, and several transactions all fell by 32.14 percent, 24.50 percent, and 8.01 percent, respectively.