Eterna losses 19.12% in market value to top weekly losers

Key highlight

• The benchmark Index finished 2.28% weaker to close the week at 52,994.13 index points and N28.869 trillion in market capitalization.
• The oil and gas stock dropped by 19.12% to close at N5.50 per share from N6.80 which was the opening figure of the previous day’s trading.
• The decline in share prices can be attributed to investors’ low sentiment informed by the outcome of the 2023 general elections which is being contested in the court law.

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Eterna Plc said it recorded a loss of 19.12% at the end of the week’s trading session as the domestic bourse remained under sell pressure.

The market extended its losing streak for the fourth consecutive session as the benchmark Index closed 2.28% weaker, to close the week at 52,994.13 index points and N28.869 trillion in market capitalization.

The loss

Checks by Nairametrics showed that the oil and gas stock dropped by 19.12% to close at N5.50 per share from N6.80 which was the opening figure recorded at the end of last week’s trading session.

Further checks revealed that Eterna Plc closed this week’s trading at N7,172.80 billion in market capitalisation as against N8,868.18 billion when the weekly trading activities began, indicating a loss of N1,695.38 billion or 19.12%.

Among the other three top companies that recorded losses this week are Multiverse Mining and Exploration Plc which recorded a loss of 18.83% to close at N2.63 per share from N3.24 posted last week, ABC Transport Plc which declined by 16.22% to close at 31 kobo from 37 kobo per share last week, and Royal Exchange Plc with a loss of 15.38% to 66 kobo per share from 78 kobo last week.

Low sentiment

The decline in share prices can be attributed to investors’ low sentiment, informed by the outcome of the 2023 general elections which is being contested in the court law.

The Managing Director of Crane Securities Limited, Mr Mike Eze, told Nairametrics that the election which was seen by many people as falling below expectations is also affecting the prices of stocks. He said that investors, mostly foreign ones, are shying away from Nigerian stocks. Eze noted further that panic sales on the part of foreign investors are also being witnessed due to election jittery.

What you should know

The NGX All-Share Index and Market Capitalization depreciated by 2.28% to close the week at 52,994.13 and N28.869 trillion respectively. Similarly, all other indices finished lower except for NGX Insurance which appreciated by 2.19% while the NGX ASeM and NGX Growth indices closed flat

A total turnover of 1.054 billion shares worth N10.050 billion in 16,155 deals was traded this week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 2.071 billion shares valued at N17.562 billion that exchanged hands last week in 17,917 deals.

Over the course of the week, Airtel Africa with a loss of -10.00% w/w, Zenith Bank Plc with a loss of -1.35% w/w and GTCO which declined by -4.31% w/w were the major heavyweights that drag the market down. Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return fell to 3.40% while the market capitalization shed N674.53 billion w/w to close at N28.87 trillion.

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