EQUITIES
Bullish sentiment reemerged in the Nigerian equities market, snapping a three-day losing streak, as gains in BUAFOODS (+9.9%) drove the All-Share Index higher by 0.9% to 108,610.65 points. Consequently, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled higher at +3.9% and +5.5%, respectively.
The total volume of trades declined by 15.9% to 343.72 million units, valued at NGN8.63 billion, and exchanged in 12,970 deals. ACCESSCORP was the most traded stock by volume and value at 65.10 million units and NGN1.80 billion, respectively.
Sectoral performance was mixed, as the Consumer Goods (+4.2%) and Insurance (+0.3%) indices advanced, while the Banking (-0.6%) index declined. The Oil & Gas and Industrial Goods indices closed flat.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative (0.9x), as 28 tickers lost relative to 24 gainers. BUAFOODS (+9.9%) and RTBRISCOE (+6.9%) led the gainers, while UPL (-9.8%) and INTENEGINS (-9.8%) posted the most significant losses of the day.
CURRENCY
The official FX rate appreciated by 0.1% to NGN1,509.53/USD.
MONEY MARKET & FIXED INCOME
The overnight lending rate expanded by 13bps to 32.8% in the absence of any significant funding pressure on the system.
The Treasury bills secondary market traded on a quiet note, albeit with a bullish undertone, as the average yield pared by 1bp to 22.0%. Across the curve, the average yield contracted at the short (-1bp), mid (-1bp) and long (-1bp) segments, driven by the demand for the 92DTM (-1bp), 169DTM (-1bp) and 295DTM (-2bps) bills, respectively. Similarly, the average yield declined by 40bps to 25.5% in the OMO segment.
Proceedings in the Treasury bond secondary market were bullish, as the average yield declined by 11bps to 21.2%. Across the benchmark curve, the average yield declined at the short (-6bps), mid (-28bps) and long (-8bps) segments due to buying interest in the JUL-2030 (-38bps), FEB-2031 (-56bps) and JAN-2042 (-45bps) bonds, respectively.
