The Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) halted several weeks of uptrend to close on a downward note yesterday, as profit taking in Total, Presco and 31 stocks dragged market capitalisation by N672 billion.
The market capitalization of listed equities decreased by N672 billion or 1.99 per cent to N33.059 trillion from N33.731 trillion reported the previous day. The All Share Index also depreciated by 1234.20 basis points to 60715.04 points from 61949.24 points traded the previous day.
On the price movement chart, 33 stocks appreciated in price while 44 constituted the losers chart. Chi Plc led the gainers chart, adding 10 per cent to close at 99 kobo, Eterna Plc followed with a gain of 9.96 per cent to close at N25.40 kobo, Chams Plc added 9.88 per cent to close at 89 kobo, ETranzact added 9.87 per cent to close at N7.79 kobo, Skyways Aviation Handling also gained 9.87 per cent to close at N12.25 kobo.
Transcorp Hotels appreciated by 9.83 per cent to close at N25.70 kobo. RTBriscoe rose by 9.68 per cent to close at 68 kobo. Unity Bank garnered 9.30 per cent to close at N1.41 kobo. Honeywell flourmills also increased by 9.14 per cent to close at N3.70 kobo.
However, Lasaco Insurance led others on the losers’ chart with 13.86 per cent to close at N2.30 kobo, PZ Cusson trailed with a drop of 10 per cent to close at N20.70 kobo, Wema Bank Plc dipped by 9.98 per cent to close at N5.32 kobo BuaCement dipped by 9.86 per cent to close at N83.15 kobo, Transcorp declined by 9.84 per cent to close at N3.48 kobo.
UPL shed 9.82 per cent to close at N2.45 kobo. TrippleG depreciated by 9.76 per cent to close at N3.05 kobo. LearnAfrica declined by 9.35 per cent to close at N2.91 kobo. Afromedia dropped 9.09 per cent to close at 20 kobo. Livestock also shed 9.05 per cent to close at N1.81 kobo.
Meanwhile, the Chief Executive Officer, NGX, Temi Popoola has stated that the policies of the Federal Government since the inauguration of President Bola Tinubu has continued to boost investors appetite for stocks.
Equities investors have endured long periods of bearish sentiments on the floor of NGX but that has changed considerably since President Tinubu’s policy statements on May 29, 2023.
For instance, transactions on the exchange concluded the first half of the year on a positive note, with the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gaining 18.9 per cent and closing at 60,968.27 points, marking a significant milestone for the index as it reached its highest level in 15 years since March 5, 2008 when it stood at 66,381.20 points, causing investors’ wealth to rise by N5.3 trillion in H1.
He said, “In the past one month, there has been a change in administration and I would say a couple of things have happened. There has been a material change in policy management. We have gone from an unorthodox approach to something more orthodox, more traditional. This has engendered a lot of hope and I think the financial markets responded in a very positive fashion.
“So in the past, there has been scarcity of FX and this liberalization policy has started to resolve that. So, we expect that our corporates can run more efficiently which means that they can be more profitable in markets like ours.
We had a gap between the official rate and the parallel market in the past. This has normalized now and there is increased propensity by foreign investors to bring money into Nigeria and that of course helps the general FX situation. The country is now open to foreign capital and what this does is to transform and improve the economy,” Popoola stated.