Investors in the elite banks in Nigeria- FBNH, UBA, GTB, Access and Zenith have lost a total of N34.68 billion in a single trading session, amid sell-offs.

According to data from the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE), the market capitalization of the top five banks dropped to N2.52 trillion as at close of business on the 4th of March 2021, shedding about 1.6% in a single trading session.

The loss is due to downward pressure on the share prices of the elite banks, evident by the sell-off witnessed in the market. A snapshot of how much each bank lost and the impact is succinctly captured below;

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UBA

The United Bank for Africa investors lost a total of N10.26 billion after its market capitalization dropped from N282.15 billion to N271.9 billion as at close of business yesterday.

The drop is due to a sharp decline in its share price which closed at N7.95, shedding about 3.64% in a day.

Investors cashed in on the decline to trade about 26,782,197 units of the Bank’s shares valued at N211, 571,939.35, placing the bank as the fourth most traded stock at the NSE. The volume of shares traded by the bank rose astronomically by 201.9%, when compared to 8.87 million units traded the previous day.

On the other hand, it is pertinent to note that the United Bank for Africa (UBA) is yet to release its audited FY 2020 result.

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Access Bank

Access Bank Nigeria Plc lost a total of N8.89 billion after its market capitalization dropped from N286.14 billion to N277.25 billion. The loss is due to a decline in its share price from N8.05 to N7.80, indicating a dip of 3.11%.

Just like UBA, Access Bank investors traded a total of 21,586,491 units valued at N168, 090,266.60, placing it as the fifth most traded stock at the NSE today. In lieu of this, Access Bank stock volume appreciated by 229.1%, from 6.56 million traded yesterday.

Access Bank is yet to release its audited financial statements for FY 2020.

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Zenith Bank

Zenith Bank investors lost a total of N7.85 billion after market capitalization dropped to N794.3 billion today. The marginal drop is due to a slight dip in the firm’s share price, from N25.5 traded yesterday to N25.30 as at close of business, indicating a decline of 0.98%.

Investors reacted to this drop by trading 38,647,711 units of the bank’s shares valued at N983, 251,467.75, placing the firm as the second most traded stock at the NSE market.

The drop in the market value of Zenith shares is in contrast to what was obtained last week, when investors gained a total of N37.7 billion, the highest recorded by the bank since the famous circuit breaker. The gains were sequel to an impressive financial performance by the firm for FY 2020, after it recorded a PAT of N230.6 billion and declared a final dividend of N2.70 per share.

FBNH

FBNH investors lost N1.8 billion after its market capitalization declined to N253.06 billion as at the close of business. The drop was due to a 0.7% decline in its share price from N7.1 traded earlier to N7.05.

In lieu of this, a total of 31,253,644 units of the bank’s shares valued at N983, 251,467.75 were traded, placing the firm’s stock as the third most traded stock at NSE. The total volume traded surged by 88.9%, from a total of 16.54 million traded a day earlier.

FBNH had earlier declared a Profit After Tax figures of N79.71 billion for FY 2020, indicating an increase of 8.2% YoY.

GTB

GTB investors lost a total of N5.89 billion, following a drop in its market capitalization from N932.97 billion to N927.08 billion. The drop was due to a 0.63% decline in share price which closed at N31.50.

It is pertinent to note that GTB is yet to release its audited financial statement for FY 2020.

What you should know

• The Nigerian Stock Exchange ended on a bearish note on Wednesday, March 4, 2021 after the ASI declined by 0.40% to close at 39,364.67 index points.
• On a general note, investors lost a total of N82.35 billion, with FUGAZ accounting for 42.11% of the loss.

The spread of novel Corona Virus Disease (COVID-19) in Nigeria continues to record significant increases as the latest statistics provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control reveal Nigeria now has 157,671 confirmed cases.

On the 4th of March 2021, 709 new confirmed cases and 12 deaths were recorded in Nigeria.

To date, 157,671 cases have been confirmed, 136,335 cases have been discharged and 1,951 deaths have been recorded in 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.

A total of 1.54 million tests have been carried out as of March 4th, 2021 compared to 1.49 million tests a day earlier.

COVID-19 Case Updates- 4th March 2021,

• Total Number of Cases – 157,671
• Total Number Discharged – 136,335
• Total Deaths – 1,951
• Total Tests Carried out – 1,544,008

According to the NCDC, the 709 new cases are reported from 21 states- Adamawa (180), Lagos (141), Ondo (60), Anambra (54), Rivers (41), Taraba (33), Edo (30), Abia (22), Kaduna (22), FCT (21), Akwa Ibom (20), Kano (20), Plateau (11), Ekiti (10), Kebbi (10), Nasarawa (10), Bayelsa (7), Ogun (5), Osun (5), Oyo (5), and Gombe (1).

Meanwhile, the latest numbers bring Lagos state total confirmed cases to 56,132, followed by Abuja (19,292), Plateau (8,916), Kaduna (8,600),  Oyo (6,752), Rivers (6,556), Edo (4,611), Ogun (4,411), Kano (3,790), Ondo (3,006), Kwara (2,931), Delta (2,582), Osun (2,439), Nasarawa (2,237), Enugu (2,078), Katsina (2,060), Gombe (2,056), Ebonyi (1,881), Anambra (1,726), Akwa Ibom (1,552), and Abia (1,552).

Imo State has recorded 1,528 cases, Borno (1,297), Bauchi (1,232), Benue (1,188), Niger (917), Ekiti (813), Taraba (813), Bayelsa (772), Sokoto (769), Adamawa (762), Jigawa (496), Kebbi (388), Cross River (334), Yobe (288), Zamfara (220), while Kogi state has recorded 5 cases only.

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Lock Down and Curfew

In a move to combat the spread of the pandemic disease, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the cessation of all movements in Lagos and the FCT for an initial period of 14 days, which took effect from 11 pm on Monday, 30th March 2020.

The movement restriction, which was extended by another two weeks period, has been partially put on hold with some businesses commencing operations from May 4. On April 27th, 2020, Nigeria’s President, Muhammadu Buhari declared an overnight curfew from 8 pm to 6 am across the country, as part of new measures to contain the spread of the COVID-19. This comes along with the phased and gradual easing of lockdown measures in FCT, Lagos, and Ogun States, which took effect from Saturday, 2nd May 2020, at 9 am.

On Monday, 29th June 2020 the federal government extended the second phase of the eased lockdown by 4 weeks and approved interstate movement outside curfew hours with effect from July 1, 2020. Also, on Monday 27th July 2020, the federal government extended the second phase of eased lockdown by an additional one week.

On Thursday, 6th August 2020 the federal government through the secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and Chairman of the Presidential Task Force (PTF) on COVID-19 announced the extension of the second phase of eased lockdown by another four (4) weeks.

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State announced the closed down of the Eti-Osa Isolation Centre, with effect from Friday, 31st July 2020. He also mentioned that the Agidingbi Isolation Centre would also be closed and the patients relocated to a large capacity centre.

Due to the increased number of covid-19 cases in Nigeria, the Nigerian government ordered the reopening of Isolation and treatment centres in the country on Thursday, 10th December 2020.

On 26th January 2021, the Federal Government announced the extension of the guidelines of phase 3 of the eased lockdown by one month following the rising cases of the coronavirus disease in the country and the expiration of phase 3 of the eased lockdown.

On 28th February 2021, the federal government confirmed that the first tranche of Covid-19 vaccines will arrive in Nigeria on Tuesday, March 2nd, 2021.

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