Investors cash out N101.8bn as positive sentiments lift shares on Nigerian bourse
By Charles Abuede
Market investors on the Nigerian stock market made N101.8 billion profit on Tuesday as the local bourse reversed Monday’s losses on the back of buying interests in Dangote Cement (+2.3%), Okomu Oil (+10.0%) and Dangote Sugar (+2.9%) as the All-Share Index rose 0.5 per cent to 38,881.70 points, leading to -3.4 per cent improvement in the market year to date loss while market capitalisation rose to N20.27 trillion from N20.16 trillion posted on the previous day.
Similarly, the level of trading activity strengthened as volume and value traded rose by 3.7 per cent and 6.0 per cent to 218.5 million units and N1.6 billion respectively. The most traded stocks by volume were Courtville Plc (35.8m units), Fidelity Bank (26.6m units), and Zenith Bank (15.3m units), while Zenith Bank (N349.3m), GTBank (N291.3m), and Dangote Cement (N107.8m) led by value.Across the various sectors of the market, performance was mixed as 3 indices lost while 3 indices gained. The insurance index led the laggards, down 1.0 per cent due to selling pressure on AXA Mansard Insurance (-2.3%) and Regency Alliance Insurance (-8.2%). Similarly, the banking and ICT indices lost 5 basis points and 1 basis point respectively due to price depreciation in Access Bank (-0.6%), First Bank Holding (-0.7%), and CWG Plc (-9.4%). Conversely, the industrial goods index led the gainers, up 1.1 per cent following price appreciation in Dangote Cement (+2.3%).
Similarly, the consumer goods and oil & gas indices rose by 0.6 per cent and 0.1 per cent respectively on the back of buying interests in Flour Mills Plc (+2.5%), Unilever Plc (+3.9%), Eterna Plc (+2.6%), and Oando Plc (+0.3%).
However, investor sentiment strengthened to 0.9x from 0.5x in the last trading session as 15 stocks advanced while 17 stocks declined. Leading the gainers’ table were Okomu Oil (+10.0%), Learn Africa (+9.0%) and Champion Breweries (+4.7%) while CWG Plc (-9.4%), Regency Alliance Insurance (-8.2%), and Veritas Capitals (-7.7%) led decliners.
At the NSE 30, the index increased by 0.58 per cent to close at 1,580.17 points against 1,571.08 points as on the previous day. Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 82.58 million units. Okomu Oil and Unilever Plc were the key gainers, while Ecobank and Access Bank were the key losers.
Currency market
The naira stayed unrelenting trading at N502 to the dollar in the streets while at the I&E FX market, it depreciated by 0.10 per cent as the dollar was quoted at N411.50 as against the last close of N411.07. Most participants in the market maintained bids of between N400 and N420.73 per dollar.
T-bills Market
The NT-Bills secondary market closed on a flat note on Tuesday with the average yield across the curve remaining unchanged at 6.26 per cent. Average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities closed flat at 4.03 per cent, 5.51 per cent, and 8.22 per cent, respectively. However, the CBN is scheduled to conduct a Primary Market Auction on Wednesday to roll over NT-bills maturities worth N91.2 billion across 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day tenors.
In the OMO bills market, the average yield across the curve increased by 1 basis point to close at 9.77 per cent as against the last close of 9.76 per cent. Mild selling pressure was seen across short-term maturities with the average yield rising by 5 basis points. However, the average yields across medium-term and long-term maturities remained unchanged at 9.52 per cent and 9.65 per cent, respectively. Selling pressure was observed in the OMO 24-Aug-21 by 12 basis points, OMO 7-Sep-21 by 9 basis points and OMO 28-Sep-21 by 3 basis points.
Bonds market
FGN bonds secondary market closed on a mildly negative note on Tuesday as the average bond yield across the curve cleared higher by 1 basis point to close at 9.75 per cent from 9.74 per cent on the previous day. The average yields across the short tenor and medium tenor of the curve expanded by 1 basis point each, while the average yield across the long tenor of the curve decreased by 1 basis point. The 27-MAR-2035 maturity bond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 6 basis points, while the 23-MAR-2025 maturity bond was the worst performer with an increase in yield of 12 basis points.