Dangote Cement, 13 others drag equity market further down

Bearish trend continued in the Nigerian stock market on Wednesday on the back of decline recorded by largely capitalized stocks.
Drop by Dangote Cement, Nigerian Breweries and 12 other losers dragged the bourse down by 0.79 per cent, sustaining negative sentiment for the second day straight.
The All Share Index (ASI) slipped by 257.62 absolute points, representing a decrease of 0.79 per cent to close at 32,454.03 points.
Also, the Market Capitalization decreased by N94.05 billion, representing a dip of 0.79 per cent to berth at N11.85 trillion.
Diamond Bank appreciated 5.08 per cent to emerge the top gainer amidst 14 other advancers, while Nigerins shed -8.82 per cent to lead the losers table. Other losers were NB (-2.73 per cent), Dangote Cement (-2.39 per cent), Unilever (-2.17 per cent), Access Bank (-1.23 per cent), UBA (-1.19 per cent), FBNH (-1.09 per cent) and ETI (-0.28 per cent).
All the indices in the NSE closed in red except the banking index, which 0.38 per cent.
FCMB sold the highest number of shares, with 38,380,467.00 of its stock exchanged worth N65.72 million, while Nestle had the highest value of stock traded, having sold 285,836.00 shares amounting to N400.07 million.
A total of 136,731,565 shares exchanged hands, valued at N1.43 billion in 2,801 deals.
The NSE has been struggling since the first quarter of the year as foreign portfolio investors abandoned emerging markets and head to developed markets, whose yields have been increasing.
The bourse performance is worsened by political uncertainties that has made investors to adopt “wait and see” approach.
The market has lost -14.6 per cent in the six months and -7.31 per cent year-to-date, after appreciating 42.3 per cent in 2017.