NSE resumes after Easter holidays with 1.19% loss

Activities resumed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) on Tuesday after the Easter holidays on a negative, with major blue chips recording price depreciation.

Our correspondent reports that the market indices — market capitalisation and All-Share Index — dropped by 1.19 per cent respectively due to losses achieved by some highly capitalised equities.

A breakdown of the price movement table showed that Nestlé recorded the highest loss to lead the losers’ chart, dropping by N21.93 to close at N728.07 per share.

Dangote Cement trailed with a loss of N4 to close at N180 and Ecobank Transnational Incorporated declined by 41k to close at N7.79 per share.

Oando was down by 27k to close at N5.32 million and Union Bank of Nigeria dipped 26k to close at N4.98 per share.

Consequently, the market capitalisation which opened at N8.826 trillion lost N105 billion or 1.19 per cent to close at N8.721 trillion.

Also, the All-Share Index dipped 302.04 points or 1.19 per cent to close at 25,207.07 against 25,510.01 posted on Thursday.

Conversely, Seplat Petroleum Development led the gainers’ table for the day, growing by N10 to close at N400 per share.

Forte Oil followed with a gain of 50k to close at N44.50 and Dangote Floor gained 18k to close at N4.40 per share.

FBN Holdings appreciated by 16k to close at N3.36, while Stanbic IBTC increased by 14k to close at N18.90 per share.

Our correspondent reports that the banking sub-sector was the most active with Diamond Bank emerging the most traded, accounting for 51.81 million shares worth N42.33 million.

Guaranty Trust Bank followed with 40.88 million shares valued at N1 billion, while FBN Holdings traded 20.66 million shares worth N67.81 million.

United Bank for Africa sold 20.19 million shares worth N106.75 million and Fidelity Bank exchanged 19.13 million shares valued at N15.85 million.

In all, investors bought and sold 254.96 million shares worth N2.45 billion transacted in 2,854 deals.

This was in contrast with the 349.28 million shares valued at N2.28 billion traded in 2,826 deals on Thursday.