EQUITIES
The local bourse kicked off the week on a bullish note, as gains in DANGCEM (+1.7%) and STANBIC (+5.5%), drove the benchmark Index higher by 0.5% to 147,717.22 points. Consequently, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled higher at +3.5% and +43.5%, respectively.
The total volume traded increased by 61.6% to 624.61 million units, valued at NGN13.47 billion, and exchanged in 31,563 deals. FIDELITYBK was the most traded stock by volume at 47.47 million units, while MTNN was the most traded stock by value at NGN2.62 billion.
Sectoral performance was broadly positive as the Insurance (+2.1%), Industrial Goods (+0.7%), Consumer Goods (+0.2%) and Banking (+0.2%) indices advanced, while the Oil & Gas index closed flat.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was mixed (1.0x), as 24 tickers gained relative to 24 losers. SOVRENINS (+10.0%) and REGALINS (+9.7%) led the gainers, while TRIPPLEG (-9.9%) and WEMABANK (-8%) recorded the most significant losses of the day.
CURRENCY
The official FX rate appreciated by 0.2% to NGN1,455.25/USD.
MONEY MARKET & FIXED INCOME
The overnight lending rate contracted by 7bps to 24.9% in the absence of any significant inflows into the system.
The NTB secondary market traded on a quiet note, albeit with a bullish undertone as the average yield contracted by 1bp to 17.4%. Across the curve, the average yield contracted at the short (-2bps) and mid (-3bps) segments, driven by the demand for the 87DTM (-3bps) and 178DTM(-3bps) bills, respectively but expanded at the long (+1bp) end due to selloffs of the 283DTM (+13bps) bill. Similarly, the average yield contracted by 7bps to 20.5% in the OMO segment.
Elsewhere, the FGN bond secondary market traded in a lull as the average yield remained unchanged at 15.9%. Across the benchmark curve, the average yield expanded at the mid (+1bp) segment, due to profit taking activities on the JUL-2034 (+1bp) bond, but closed flat at the short and long ends.
