By Samuel Bankole
The Lagos bourse started the trading week on a bearish note, extending its losing streak as the All-Share Index (ASI) dipped by 0.66 percent to conclude the session at 66,882.64 points.
The market’s subdued performance was primarily influenced by notable sell-offs in key sectors, with telco giant MTNN (-1.67 percent), Zenith Bank (-1.54 percent), and GTCO (-0.42 percent) leading the decline.
Consequently, the ASI’s year-to-date (YTD) return moderated to 30.50%, while market capitalization recorded a loss of N241.88 billion, closing at N36.61 trillion.
Analyzing today’s market activities, trade turnover demonstrated an increase compared to the previous session, with the value of transactions surging by 24.96 percent.
A total of 408.19 million shares, valued at N5.44 billion, exchanged hands in 7,707 deals. Access Corporation (-9.86 percent) dominated both the volume and value charts, with a notable 113.39 million units traded, amounting to N1.78 billion in transactions.
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Market breadth concluded in negative territory with a ratio of 2.64 to 1, indicating a prevalence of declining issues over advancing ones. Access Corporation (-9.86 percent) led a group of twenty-eight (28) decliners, while CORNERST (+9.49 percent) emerged as the top gainer among ten (10) advancers.
The NGX 30 Index, a measure of the 30 most capitalized stocks, experienced a decline of 0.68 percent, settling at 2,461.91 points, compared to its previous close of 2,478.65 points.
In another development, FMDQ Exchange has granted approval for the quotation of Chrisland Schools Limited’s commercial papers.
This includes N0.12 billion in Series 2 and N0.88 billion in Series 3, both part of the company’s N8.00 billion commercial paper issuance program on the platform.
Meanwhile, in the foreign exchange market, specifically at the I&E FX market, the naira witnessed depreciation, with the dollar being quoted at N773.25, in contrast to the previous closing rate of N747.76.
On the parrallel market, the local currency was flat at N995 to the dollar, according to Aboki FX, a platform that projects autonomous forex market rates. The naira touched N998 to the dollar on the market before it recovered slightly to N995 per dollar closing rate.
This exchange rate movement indicates ongoing dynamics in the foreign exchange landscape.
(Edited by Oludare Mayowa; omayowa@globalfinancialdigest.com; Newsroom: +234 8033 964 138)
