Nigeria Content Online

After
recording positive performance for the eighth trading day, and
recovering over N278 billion during the period in view, the Nigerian
Stock Exchange (NSE), which lost about N15 billion last Friday, further
plunged by N51.3 billion on Monday.

Analysts
have attributed profit taking activities by investors to the downturn
as sell pressures continued across the sectors on the bourse. Even the
news of the assumption of office of the three new chief executive
officers of UBA, Zenith, and Skye banks could not change the banking
sector’s direction. Equity Analysts at Proshare Nigeria, an investment
advisory firm, at the close of trading on Monday, said the negative
trend resumed last Wednesday. “Sectors such as banking that experienced
strongest rally on the back of Asset Management Company expectedly
witnessed the strongest sell pressures,” the analysts said.

They,
however, said considering the positive developments in the market, and
barring any negative news in the market, “we are of the view that the
present bearish mode may not last longer than necessary, as investors
may have reasons for holding some stocks when their prices hit some
certain points.” At the close of the day’s proceeding, the Exchange’s
market capitalisation lost N51.3 billion, or 0.81 per cent, to close at
N6.269 trillion. The All-Share Index was also down by 0.81 per cent to
close at 25,634.39 basis points, reflecting a decrease of 209.79 units.

The
number of gainers at the close of trading session stood at 25 compared
with the 22 gainers recorded on Friday, while losers also closed higher
at 43 compared with the 42 recorded last trading day. The banking
sector led the market transaction volume on Monday with 110.721 million
units valued at N892.096 million exchanged in 3,205 deals. Transactions
in the shares of Zenith, Diamond, First Bank and UBA boosted the volume
traded in the sector. The total volume of 49.586 million units valued
at N590.225 million traded in the shares of the four banks accounted
for 48.75 per cent of the entire sector volume.

Seamless takeover

Meanwhile,
seamless takeover was it at the three banks whose new chief executive
officers assumed office on Monday. Phillip Oduoza for UBA, Phillip
Emefiele, Zenith and Kehinde Durosimmi-Etti for Skye assumed office on
Monday. At the head offices of the three banks, it was business as
usual as there was no visible indication that a change of guard had
occurred. At UBA head office; there was no unusual happening as people
moved in and out of the premises. It was the same thing at Skye Bank
head office on Victoria Island. A visit to one of its branches in the
Central Business District on Lagos Island, revealed the usual throng of
customers conducting normal transactions.

Nasir Ramon, of the media unit of UBA, said the handover was smooth
and seamless. “The new managing director assumed his position
officially on Sunday. Everything is going on well”, he said. The
Central Bank in January unveiled new sets of corporate governance codes
that would see chief executives of banks spending a maximum of 10 years
in office. Bank CEOs who were affected by the directive include Jim
Ovia of Zenith Bank and Tony Elumelu of UBA, who have spent 19 and 12
years as CEOs of their respective banks. Akinfemi Akinfehinwa, former
CEO of Skye Bank, had also spent over 10 years.