BY MICHAEL EBOH

The declining trend on the Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE continued, Monday, as the value of listed equities, represented by the market capitalisation , dipped by N29.29 billion.

The decline, which analysts attribute to uncertainty in the financial system and the economy in general, over the next set of individuals to be appointed by President Goodluck Jonathan to manage the affairs of the country in the next couple of months.

The capitalisation which opened the day’s trading at N8.216 trillion, dropped by 0.36 per cent to close at N8.186 trillion. The All-share index also dipped by 0.36 per cent or 91.61 basis points to close at 25,604.85 points from 25,696.46 points.

The dip in the capitalisation and index was occasioned by declines in the key sectorial indices, as the NSE 30, representing major blue chip companies, dipped by 0.65 per cent to close at 1,139.89 points. The NSE Food/Beverage index, representing highly capitalised companies in the Food/Beverage and Tobacco sector, dropped by 0.17 per cent to close at 846.95 points from 848.42 points, while the NSE Banking index shed 0.21 per cent to close at 389.30 points from 390.10 points at which it opened.

Paints and Coatings Manufacturers Plc led 25 other companies on the price losers’ chart, with a share price depreciation of five per cent or a loss of N0.10 to close N1.90 per share, Oceanic Bank International Plc followed with a loss of N0.06, representing a depreciation of five per cent to close at N1.14 per share and Costain (West Africa) Plc shed N0.19 or 4.92 per cent to close at N3.67 per share.

Other share price losers include: Neimeth International Pharmaceuticals Plc N0.09, Bank PHB Plc N0.04, Poly Products Plc N0.06, Afribank Nigeria Plc N0.05, AIICO Insurance Plc N0.04, UTC Nigeria Plc N0.03, Spring Bank Plc N0.04 among others.

On the contrary, Airline Services and Logistics Plc recorded the most share price gain, rising by N0.12 or 4.96 per cent to close at N2.54 per share, Eterna Oil and Gas Plc followed with a gain of N0.22 or 4.91 per cent to close at N4.70 per share and Custodian and Allied Insurance Plc garnered N0.13 to close at N3.08 per share.

Other share price gainers include: Union Homes and Savings Plc N0.02, Unity Bank Plc N0.03, First Inland Bank Plc N0.02, Ikeja Hotels Plc N0.05, Niger Insurance Plc 0.02, Presco Plc N0.20, Cutix Plc N0.05 among others.

The declining trend continued in equity trading, as a turnover of 154.72 million shares valued at N1.43 billion was recorded in 4,719 deals, dropping by 53.13 per cent from Friday’s turnover of 330.13 million shares valued at N1.93 billion in 4,271 deals.