EQUITIES
The Nigerian equities market traded cautiously with a bullish tilt, as buying interest in NESTLE (+10.0%) and NB (+4.4%) outweighed losses in FIDELITYBK (-5.0%) and FIRSTHOLDCO (-0.8%), causing the benchmark index to inch higher by 3bps to 109,730.47 points. Sequentially, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled at +3.7% and +6.6%, respectively.
The total volume traded increased by 2.3% to 497.06 million units, valued at NGN13.21 billion, and exchanged in 18,795 deals. FIDELITYBK was the most traded stock by volume at 60.18 million units, while ARADEL was the most traded stock by value at NGN2.55 billion.
Analyzing by sectors, the Consumer Goods (+2.5%) and Insurance (+1.4%) indices advanced, while the Oil & Gas (-2.9%) and Banking (-0.4%) indices declined. The Industrial Goods index closed flat.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was neutral (1.0x), as 31 tickers gained and 31 tickers lost. NESTLE (+10.0%) and REGALINS (+10.0%) led the gainers, while BERGER (-10.0%) and MBENEFIT (-9.8%) recorded the most significant losses of the day.
CURRENCY
The official FX rate appreciated by 0.6% to NGN1,595.00/USD.
MONEY MARKET & FIXED INCOME
The overnight lending rate contracted by 1bp to 27.0% in the absence of any significant inflows into the system.
Trading in the Treasury bills secondary market was quiet, with a bullish undertone, as the average yield contracted by 1bp to 20.8%. Across the curve, the average yield contracted at the short (-1bp), mid (-1bp) and long (-1bp) segments, driven by the demand for 79DTM (-1bp), 170DTM (-1bp) and 338DTM (-2bps) bills, respectively. Meanwhile, the average yield contracted by 6bps to 26.6% in the OMO segment.
Elsewhere, the Treasury bond secondary market traded with bearish sentiments, as the average yield expanded by 1bp to 18.7%. Across the benchmark curve, the average yield expanded at the short (+2bps) and mid (+1bp) segments, driven by sell pressures on the JUL-2030 (+5bps) and FEB-2031 (+7bps) bonds, respectively. The average yield closed flat at the long end.
