Stocks rally N151bn gain to retain uptrend
Collective performance of the Nigerian stock market remained positive on Wednesday as Tuesday’s bullish outlook spilled over with the All-Share Index (ASI) appreciating by 0.7 per cent to 39,170.95 basis points.
This amounted to N151 billion profit for investors who went all the way to the bank as the session was bouyed by strong buying interest in the shares of Dangote Cement (+2.2 per cent), Okomu Oil (+9.8 per cent), and GTBank (+1.8 per cent).
Consequently, the market’s year to date (YtD) loss moderated to -2.7 per cent with the market capitalisation rising to N20.416 trillion from N20.26 trillion the equities market closed the previous session.
The level of trading activity was mixed as the volume traded declined 16.9 per cent to 181.5 million units while the value traded rose by 149.0 per cent to N4 billion. The most traded stocks by volume were Zenith Bank (20.8m units), Sterling Bank (19.4m units), and GTBank (15.1m units), while Nestle Plc (N1.4bn), Dangote Cement (N518.0m), and Zenith Bank (N476.1m) led by value.
Across the various sectors, performance was bullish as five indices gained while the ICT index closed flat.
Leading the gainers’ table was the industrial goods index, up 1.3 per cent due to buying interest in Dangote Cement (+2.2%) and Wapco Plc (+4.2%).
Similarly, the banking and insurance indices gained 1.3 per cent and 0.4 per cent respectively on the back of price appreciation in GTBank (+1.8%), Stanbic IBTC (+1.1%), Mutual Benefits Assurance (+4.6%), and NEM Insurance (+0.5%).
Similarly, the consumer goods and oil & gas indices rose by 0.3 per cent and 3 basis points respectively due to price uptick in Flour Mills of Nigeria (+2.7%), Nascon Plc (+7.4%), Conoil Plc (+10.0%), and Oando Plc (+0.3%).
Investor sentiment in the market strengthened to 4.2x from 0.9x in the last trading session as 25 stocks advanced while 6 stocks declined. Cutix Plc (+10.0%), Okomu Oil (+9.8%), and Union Bank Nigeria (+9.4%) led gainers while Sovereign Trust Insurance (-3.6%), Jaiz Bank (-3.4%), and FCMB (-1.6%) led decliners.
The NSE 30 Index recorded an increase of 0.90 per cent Wednesday to close at 1,594.44 points as against 1,580.17 points on Tuesday. Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 113.30 million units. Okomu Oil and Union Bank Nigeria were the key gainers, while FCMB and First Bank Holding were the key losers.
Bonds Market
The FGN bonds secondary market closed on a flat note as the average bond yield across the curve remained unchanged at 9.75 per cent. The average yields across the short tenor and long tenor of the curve remained unchanged.
However, the average yield across the medium tenor of the curve expanded by 1 basis point. The 27-MAR-2050 maturity bond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 6 basis points, while the 17-MAR-2027 maturity bond was the worst performer with an increase in yield of 3 basis points.
FX market
In the currency market, the naira traded at N502 to the greenback in the parallel market while at the I&E FX market, naira appreciated by 0.13 per cent as the dollar was quoted at N410.95 as against the last close of N411.50. Most participants maintained bids between N400 and N421.96 per dollar.
Treasury Bills market
The NT-Bills secondary market closed on a flat note, with the average yield across the curve remaining unchanged at 6.26 per cent. Average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities closed flat at 4.03 per cent, 5.51 per cent, and 8.22 per cent, respectively.
At the Primary Market Auction held Wednesday, the CBN offered NT-Bills worth N91.27 billion across the 91-day (N4.74 billion), 182-day (N7.82 billion), and 364-day (N78.71 billion) tenors.
In the OMO bills market, the average yield across the curve decreased by 12 basis points to close at 9.65 percent as against the last close of 9.77 per cent. Buying interest was seen across long-term maturities with the average yield compressing by 24 basis points.
However, the average yields across short-term and medium-term maturities remained unchanged. Yields on 9 bills compressed with the 22-Feb-22 maturity bill recording the highest yield decline of 48 basis points, while yields on 13 bills remained unchanged.
