EQUITIES
The local bourse opened the week on a positive note, as gains in DANGSUGAR (+9.7%), UNILEVER (+7.0%) and CUSTODIAN (+9.2%) drove the All-Share Index higher by 0.1% to 144,722.47 points. Consequently, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled higher at +3.5% and +40.6%, respectively.
The total volume traded declined by 16.6% to 1.15 billion units, valued at NGN16.17 billion, and exchanged in 38,160 deals. UNIVINSURE was the most traded stock by volume at 202.25 million units, while CHAMPION was the most traded stock by value at NGN1.16 billion.
Sectoral performance was mixed, as the Insurance (+5.3%) and Consumer Goods (+1.2%) indices advanced, while the Banking (-1.5%), Oil & Gas (-0.3%) and Industrial Goods (-0.1%) indices closed lower.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive (1.6x), as 41 tickers gained relative to 25 losers. UPDC (+10.0%) and AIICO (+10.0%) led the gainers, while STANBIC (-10.0%) and PZ (-7.9%) recorded the most significant losses of the day.
CURRENCY
The official FX rate appreciated by 0.1% to NGN1,534.80/USD.
MONEY MARKET & FIXED INCOME
The overnight lending rate expanded by 30bps to 32.7%, in the absence of any significant funding pressure on the system.
The NTB secondary market traded on a bearish note, as the average yield expanded by 2bps to 17.4%. Across the curve, the average yield contracted at the short (-2bps) and mid (-3bps) segments, driven by the demand for the 66DTM (-3bps) and 171DTM (-3bps) bills, respectively but expanded at the long (+7bps) end driven by the selloffs in the 290DTM (+47bps) bill. Similarly, the average yield expanded by 21bps to 24.8% in the OMO segment.
Elsewhere, the FGN bond secondary market was bullish, as the average yield contracted by 2bps to 16.4%. Across the benchmark curve, the average yield contracted at the short (-3bps) and mid (-4bps) segments, driven by the demand for the JUL-2030 (-13bps) and APR-2032 (-19bps) bonds, respectively. The average yield remained unchanged at the long end.
