The NGX lost N61bn Thursday as market capitalisation dips below N20trn from sell-pressures

Charles Abuede

The NGX market capitalisation shed further below N20 trillion due to selling pressures in the local bourse and was seen Dangote Cement (-1.9%), Sterling Bank (-7.7%), and Access Bank (-1.2%), leading to a 0.3 per cent decline in the All-Share Index which closed at 38,328.13 points on Thursday while market investors lost N61 billion. Consequently, the market’s year to date loss worsened to -4.8 per cent as market capitalisation declined to N19.98 trillion from N20.04 trillion as of the previous day.

The level of trading activities on Thursday was mixed as volume traded rose 2.4 per cent to 157.3 million units while value traded decreased by 28.9 per cent to N1.7 billion. The most traded stocks by volume were Zenith Bank (27.6m units), Access Bank (19.6m units), and First Bank Holding (13.5m units) while Zenith Bank (N634.2m), GTBank (N352.3m), and Access Bank (N161.8m) led by value.

The market performance across the sectoral fronts was mixed as 3 indicators gained, 2 lost while the ICT index closed flat. The consumer goods index led gainers, up 0.4 per cent due to buying interest in Nigerian Breweries (+2.2%) and International Breweries (+0.9%). In the same vein, the insurance and oil & gas indices rose 0.3 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively on the back of price appreciation in AIICO Insurance (+3.2%), Prestige Assurance (+6.5%), and Oando Plc (+0.7%).

On the other hand, the industrial goods and banking indices lost 0.9 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively as investors exited positions in Dangote Cement (-1.9%), Sterling Bank (-7.7%), and Access Bank (-1.2%).

Also, investor sentiment was unchanged at 0.9x as 18 stocks advanced while 19 declined. Transnational Express (+9.9%), Prestige Assurance (+6.5%) and Chams Plc (+4.8%) led the gainers’ chart while Sunu Assurance  (-9.6%), Royal Exchange Plc (-9.3%) and Regency Alliance Insurance (-8.1%) led losers’ table.

NSE 30

The NSE 30 Index decreased by 0.31 per cent to close at 1,557.11 points as against 1,562.01 points as on the previous day. Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 92.87 million units. Nigerian Breweries and Ecobank were the key gainers, while Sterling Bank and Unilever Plc were the key losers.

Currency Market

At the I&E foreign exchange market, the Naira depreciated by 0.14 per cent as the dollar was quoted at N411.31 per dollar as against the last close of N410.75 per dollar as most market participants maintained bids between N360 and N426.90 per dollar.

Treasury Bills

The NT-Bills secondary market closed on a flat note, with the average yield across the curve remaining unchanged at 5.50 per cent. The average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities closed at 2.92 per cent, 4.59 per cent, and 7.35 per cent, respectively.

Similarly, the OMO bills market average yield across the curve remained unchanged at 9.23 per cent. Average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities closed at 7.59 per cent, 8.50 per cent, and 10.16 per cent, respectively.

Bond Market

The FGN bonds secondary market closed on a mildly negative note as the average bond yield across the curve cleared higher by 1 basis point to close at 9.38 per cent from 9.37 per cent on the previous day. Average yield across the long tenor widened by 5 basis points, while the average yields across the short tenor and medium tenor of the curve remained unchanged. The FGN 15-MAY-2022 Sovereignbond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 2 basis points, while the 26-APR-2049 Sovereign bond was the worst performer with an increase in yield of 12 basis points.

Meanwhile, the FGN bond auction for May 2021 was oversubscribed by 88 per cent or N281.97 billion due to relatively tepid investor demand with bid-to-cover ratios settling at 0.74x for the 10-year, 1.15x  for the 15-year, and 3.75x for the 30-year. However, the debt management office raised bonds worth N175.24 billion across the 10-year (N20.14 billion), 15-year (N41.15 billion), and 30-year (N113.95 billion) tenors at marginal rates of 13.10 per cent (+85 bps), 14 per cent (+66 bps), and 14.20 per cent (+526 bps), respectively.