By Bamidele Famoofo
WorldStage— The Nigerian equities market edged lower on Thursday, with the NGX All-Share Index declining 0.09 percent to close at
242,145.61 points, bringing the year-to-date return to +55.61 percent and trimming market capitalization by 0.02 percent or ₦32.16 billion to close at ₦156.21 trillion.
Investor sentiment remained positive at a market breadth of 1.2x, as 26 gainers led by FIRSTHOLDCO, MCNICHOLS, UBA, VERITASKAP, and JAIZBANK outpaced 21 losers, with EUNISELL, BUACEMENT, CAP,
ROYALEX, and GUINEAINS recording the most notable losses.
Sectoral performance was mostly positive, as Banking (+2.87%), Consumer Goods (+0.30%), Insurance (+0.16%), and Oil & Gas (+0.08%) all closed in positive territory, while Industrial (-2.85%) weighed on the index and the Commodity sector ended flat. Trading activity was mixed, as volume and
turnover advanced 4.64 percent and 17.71 percent to 498.45 million shares and ₦34.87 billion respectively, while deal count slipped 3.68 percent to 39,484 transactions.
Looking ahead, the market is expected to rebound on the back of strategic portfolio
rebalancing, though profit-taking in recently appreciated counters could temper the pace of any recovery.
Despite improved system liquidity, the interbank market closed mixed on Thursday, in the money market, as the overnight NIBOR climbed 3bps
to 22.21 percent. Longer-dated tenors bucked this trend, with the 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month rates declining by 20bps, 41bps, and 53bps respectively. Meanwhile, short-term funding costs diverged as the Overnight rate rose 9bps to 22.25 percent while the Open Repo rate remained flat at 22.00 percent.
Concurrently, the Treasury Bills secondary market closed varied as yields climbed across most tenors. Rates on the 1-
month, 3-month, and 6-month papers advanced by 5bps, 5bps, and 14bps respectively, whereas the 12-month yield
dropped 4bps. Ultimately, increased trading activity and improved investor appetite pulled the average NT-Bills yield down
by 1bp to 18.40 percent.
The domestic fixed-income market remained unchanged on Thursday as steady local demand kept average FGN Bond yields flat at 17.64 percent.
Meanwhile, the Eurobond market closed positive, with average yields dipping 1bp to 6.88 percent amid strengthening international investor confidence in Nigeria’s dollar-denominated debt.
The naira recorded a bullish Thursday performance, appreciating by 0.05 percent to close at ₦1,381.53/$ at the official NAFEM window and strengthening by 0.36 percent in the parallel market to settle at ₦1,379/$.
