Dangote Sugar, 25 Others Drag Market Cap Down by N197bn

Kayode Tokede

The stock market segment of the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX) opened the new week on a negative note, dropping by N197 billion on investors’ profit-taking in Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc, and 25 others.

Specifically, the market capitalisation, which opened at N91.286 trillion, dropped by N197billion or 0.22 per cent to close at N91.089 trillion.

The NGX All-Share Index also declined by 0.22 per cent or 310.20 basis  points to close at 143,210.33 basis points as against 143,520.53 basis points it closed for trading last month as the Year-to-date (YTD) return stood at  39.14 per cent.

Sectoral performance was mixed as the  NGX Consumer Goods Index depreciated by one per cent, NGX Oil & Gas down by 0.1per cent  and NGX Industrial Goods dipped by 0.1per cent declined, while the NGX Banking Index advanced by 0.1per cent and NGX Insurance Index appreciated by 0.1per cent..

After closing market trading activities, International Breweries led the losers’ chart by 10 per cent, closing at N10.35, RT Briscoe trailed by 9.88 per cent, settling at N3.10 while Cornerstone Insurance dropped by 7.83 per cent, ending the session at N5.53 per share.

Similarly, Daar Communications dipped by 6.52 per cent, finishing at 86k and Regency Alliance Insurance shed by 4.81 per cent, closing at 99k per share.

On the other hand, NCR Nigeria led the gainers’ chart by 9.97 per cent, finishing at N60.10, Sunu Assurances followed by 9.18 per cent, settling at N4.28 and Champion Breweries grew by 8.11 per cent, closing at  N14 per share.

Also, Mecure gained by 7.58 per cent, ending the session at N29.80 while Guinea Insurance rose by 7.27 per cent, closing at N1.18 per share.

Analysis of the market activity revealed growth in the market deals with decline in the volume and value as 1.47 billion shares valued at N18.7 billion were exchanged across 28,956 transactions.

This is compared with 1.826 billion shares worth N20.03 billion that was traded across 20,645 deals. Wema Bank closed with the highest volume and value, with 113.25 million shares traded, valued at N2.07 billion.