Dangote Cement Plc and MTN Nigeria Plc recorded a combined loss of about N1.878 trillion at the end of Monday’s trading session as the domestic bourse came under selling pressure.
The local bourse lost 3.15%, with the benchmark index settling at 102,393.23 points, down from the 105,722.78 it closed at on Friday.
Market analysts attributed the development to investors taking profits after a significant bullish rally that has been witnessed in recent times.
Breakdown of the loss:
Checks by Nairametrics showed that both companies’ stocks dropped by a maximum of 10% each at the close of trading as investors stepped up profit-taking.
Further checks by Nairametrics revealed that Dangote Cement Plc closed the trading day at N686.70 per share, with a market capitalization of N11.702 trillion on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NGX).
This is in contrast to its position last Friday, where it closed at N763.00 per share and a market capitalization of N13.002 trillion, indicating a loss of N1.300 trillion or 10%.
Similarly, MTN Nigeria shares declined to N247.50 per share, with a market capitalization of N5.196 trillion after the day’s trading.
This is down from N275 per share and a market capitalization of N5.774 trillion recorded the previous trading day, resulting in a loss of N578 billion or 10% in market capitalization.
The equities market performance:
The equities market began that week on a bearish note following massive profit-takings by investors.
Accordingly, the local bourse experienced a 3.15% decline as the benchmark index settled at 102,393.23 points.
Sell-offs of industrial heavyweights, Dangote Cement (DANGCEM) (-10.00%), along with MTN Nigeria (MTNN) (-10.00%) and Zenith Bank (ZENITHBANK) (-0.28%), counterbalanced gains in Geregu Power Plc (GEREGU) (+5.44%), Transcorp Plc (TRANSCORP) (+4.55%), and Fidelity Bank Plc (FIDELITYBK) (+0.94%).
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) year-to-date (YTD) return dropped to 36.94%, while the market capitalization shed ₦1.82 trillion to close at ₦56.03 trillion.
An analysis of the day’s market activities indicates that trade turnover settled lower compared to the previous session, with the value of transactions decreasing by 7.58%.
A total of 273.85 million shares valued at ₦7.44 billion were exchanged in 9,688 deals. Guaranty Trust Holding Company Plc (GTCO) (+0.00%) led the volume chart with 28.85 million units traded, while Geregu Power Plc (GEREGU) (+5.44%) led the value chart with deals worth ₦1.74 trillion.