The Nigerian stock exchange opened trading for the week on Monday on a bearish mood, with the market indices dropping by 0.02 per cent.

Specifically, the market capitalisation, which opened at N20.455 trillion, shed N4 billion or 0.02 per cent to close at N20.451 trillion.

Also, the All-Share Index lost 8.12 per cent or 0.02 per cent to close at 39,252.89 from 39,261.01 achieved on Friday.

Accordingly, month-to-date return and year-to-date loss stood at 0.1 per cent and 2.5 per cent, respectively.

The downturn was due to market watchers’ sell-off sentiment in the consumer goods sector.

The market loss was driven by price depreciation in large, and medium capitalised stocks. The stocks included Flour Mills of Nigeria, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria, Stanbic IBTC Holding, Dangote Sugar Refinery, and May and Baker.

However, investor sentiment as measured by market breadth closed positive with 21 stocks gainers against 15 losers.

Linkage Assurance led the gainers’ chart in percentage terms with 8.93 per cent to close at 61k per share.

FTN Cocoa Processors followed with 8.89 per cent to close at 49k, while Mutual Benefits Assurance gained 7.14 per cent to close at 30k per share.

Ecobank Transnational Incorporated rose by 5.77 per cent to close at N5.50, while Universal Insurance gained five per cent to close at 21k per share.

On the other hand, GlaxoSmithKline Consumer Nigeria led the losers’ chart in percentage terms by 9.56 per cent to close at N6.15 per share.

Consolidated Hallmark Insurance followed with 8.62 per cent to close at 53k, while Sovereign Trust Insurance lost 7.69 per cent to close at 24k per share.

May and Baker dipped 6.67 per cent to close at N4.48, while University Press shed 6.03 per cent to close at N1.09 per share.

The total volume of trades increased by 17.0 per cent to 210.95 million units valued at N1.38 billion exchanged in 3,989 deals.

This was against 180.30 million shares worth N1.72 billion traded in 3,158 deals on Friday.

Transactions in the shares of Access Bank topped the activity chart with 30.52 million shares valued at N282.15 million.

Mutual Benefits Assurance followed with 26.83 million shares worth N8.004 million, while Sovereign Trust Insurance traded 21.38 million shares valued at N5.14 million.

Universal Insurance traded 12.95 million shares valued at N2.59 million, while Honeywell Flour Mills transacted 12.92 million shares worth N48.03 million.

(NAN)