*As Naira depreciates against the dollar at the official market
By Bamidele Famoofo
WorldStage– The Nigerian equities market closed on a bearish note on Tuesday, as the NGX All-Share Index declined by 0.58 percent to settle at 241,750.15 points, trimming the year-to-date return to +55.35 percent.
Consequently, market capitalization fell by ₦906 billion to ₦155.15 trillion. Despite the downturn, market breadth remained positive at 1.73x, with 45 gainers led by RTBRISCOE, VITAFOAM, MCNICHOLS, ZICHIS, and CAP outpacing 26 decliners. On the downside, GUINNESS, UNIONDICON, AIICO, WEMABANK, and MTN recorded the most significant losses.
Sectoral performance was mixed, as gains in the Insurance (+0.94%), Consumer Goods (+0.40%), and Industrial Goods (+2.49%) sectors were offset by declines in Banking (-1.22%), Oil & Gas (-2.91%), and Commodities (-2.03%). Trading activity improved during the session, with volume and value traded rising by 31.09 percent and 71.57 percent to 1.27 billion shares and ₦75.23 billion, respectively. However, the number of deals dipped by 15.88 percent to 102,665 trades.
Looking ahead to Wednesday’s session, the market is expected to trade cautiously, driven by continued investor positioning.
At the money market, the Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR) trended downward across most tenors on Tuesday, with the exception of the overnight rate, which remained unchanged at 0 percent, reflecting improved liquidity conditions in the banking system.
Specifically, the 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month rates declined by 8bps, 21bps, 50bps, and 83bps, respectively. In the funding market, rates were broadly mixed, as the Overnight rate eased by 17bps to 22.13 percent, while the Open Repo (OPR) rate remained steady at 22.00 percent.
Meanwhile, the Treasury Bills secondary market recorded a mixed performance, with yields moving in different directions across tenors. Yields on the 1-month and 12-month instruments rose by 9bps and 2bps, respectively, while the 3-month and 6-month tenors declined by 16bps and 9bps, respectively. Consequently, the average NT-Bills yield edged down by 1 basis point to 17.48 percent, supported by sustained investor demand and selective buying interest in the fixed-income market.
