Honeywell, Seplat drag equity market to N188bn loss

Investors lost N188 bn on the Nigerian Exchange Limited on Thursday due to declines in the share prices of Ikeja Hotel, Honeywell Flour, and Seplat Energy.

Ikeja Hotel shed 9.29 per cent to close at N6.35 PZ, Honeywell flour lost 8.41per cent to N3.16 and Seplat Energy declined by 8.30 per cent to the day’s trading at N 3.480

The bourse extended its bearish run to a four-day streak as the All-Share Index and market capitalisation dipped by 0.33 per cent to close at 99,468.90 points and N56.27tn, respectively.

Fidelity Bank emerged as the most traded security in volume with 46.78 million units in 389 deals, followed by Linkage Assurance with 32.12 million units in 127 deals.

On Wednesday, equity investors lost N2.18bn with the All-Share Index and the market capitalisation dipping marginally by 0.004 per cent to close at 99,802.08 and N56.46tn, respectively.

The market recorded 21 gainers in contrast to 18 losers, while 75 closed flat.

Performance across our coverage sectors was positive, as four indices gained while the other two lost.

Leading the gainers, the banking and insurance indices inched higher by 0.1 per cent, and 0.4 per cent, respectively, on the back of price appreciation in the United Bank for Africa, FBN Holdings, Linkage Assurance and AlICO Insurance.

On the flip side, the oil & gas and consumer goods indices shed 4 per cent and 0.3 per cent, respectively, due to profit-booking on SEPLAT, Oando, Dangote Sugar, and Honeywell Flour.

Analysts predict an extended bearish performance due to dampened investor sentiment.