Equity market dips 0.40% on sell-offs

The Nigerian exchange declined by 0.40 per cent as investors reacted to the latest Consumer Price Index figures from the country’s statistics bureau.

At the close of trade on Monday, the All-Share Index and the market capitalisation shed 0.40 per cent to 104,663.34  points and N59.18tn, respectively.

Analysts at Arthur Stevens Asset Management Limited said that the bearish outing was a result of sell-offs.

The National Bureau of Statistics, on Friday, disclosed the inflation rate for February 2024, which accelerated to 31.70 per cent from 29.90 per cent in the previous month and was 9.79 per cent higher than the 21.91 per cent registered in February 2023.

Food and core indices increased to 37.92 per cent and 25.13 per cent, respectively.

There were also multiple projections that inflation would continue its upswing as the naira continues to weaken against the dollar.

The manufacturing sector remains overly reliant on imports and insecurity remains unsettled with increasing levels of disruption in the supply chain.

On the local bourse, trading activitis increased substantially despite the dips.

The number of deals rose by 40.58 per cent to 9,077; volume went up by 32.34 per cent to 287.45m and the value of traded shares leapt by 115.75 per cent to N10.8bn.

The market sentiments remained positive with the gainers standing at 27, led by ABC Transportation, NEM Insurance and Livestock, which gained 9.86 per cent, 9.77 per cent, and 9.68 per cent to close at N0.78, N7.30 and N1.30, respectively.

The number of losers stood at 17 led by McNichos, Daar Communications and real estate firm, UPDC with -9.30 per cent, -8.97 per cent, and -7.89 per cent, respectively.

The volume and value drivers of the day’s market trend were led by United Bank for Africa, Guaranty Trust Holding Company and Transcorp.

Banking stocks dominated the trades when measured in volume led by UBA, GTCO, Zenith Bank, FBN Holdings and AccessCorp.