EQUITIES
The Nigerian equities market declined for the fifth consecutive session, extending its bearish run as sell-offs in ZENITHBANK (-1.4%) and ACCESSCORP (-1.8%) drove the All-Share Index lower by 0.1% to 104,858.77 points. Sequentially, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns moderated to -2.8% and +1.9%, respectively.
The total volume traded declined by 77.3% to 310.53 million units, valued at NGN6.25 billion, and exchanged in 10,182 deals. FIDELITYBK was the most traded stock by volume, at 40.03 million units, while ZENITHBANK was the most traded stock by value, at NGN1.07 billion.
Sectoral performance was mixed as the Insurance (-0.4%) index closed lower, while the Consumer Goods (+0.4%) and Insurance (+0.1%) indices advanced. The Industrial Goods and Oil & Gas indices closed flat.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative (0.5x), as 27 tickers lost relative to 14 gainers. LIVESTOCK (-9.6%) and ROYALEX (-8.2%) posted the most significant losses of the day, while CWG (+9.6%) and VERITASKAP (+8.4%) led the gainers.
CURRENCY
The official FX rate appreciated by 0.2% to NGN1,537.65/USD.
MONEY MARKET & FIXED INCOME
The overnight lending rate remained unchanged at 32.9%, closing at a net short position (NGN1.84 trillion).
Proceedings in the NTB secondary market were quiet, albeit with a bullish tilt, as the average yield expanded by 1bp to 19.1%. Across the curve, the average yield contracted at the short (-1bp), mid (-1bp) and long (-1bp) segments, driven by the demand for the 77DTM (-1bp), 175DTM (-1bp) and 336DTM (-1bp) bills, respectively. In contrast, the average yield expanded by 8bps to 22.5% in the OMO segment.
The Treasury bond secondary market traded on a bearish note, as the average yield expanded by 4bps to 18.5%. Across the benchmark curve, the average yield expanded at the short (+2bps), mid (+7bps) and long (+4bps) segments due to sell pressures on the JUL-2030 (+11bps), FEB-2031 (+16bps), and JAN-2042 (+24bps) bonds, respectively.
