Stock cherry-picking on Seplat, MTN, Zenith gives investors N30bn gain
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Equity trading activities closed positively on Lagos Customs Street on Wednesday as investors cherry-picked Seplat Petroleum (+1.5%), MTN Nigeria (+1.2%), and Zenith Bank (+0.1%) to give market investors N30 billion in share value appreciation. As a result, the All-Share Index rose 0.15 percent to 38,564.70 points, market year to date loss improved to -4.2 percent while market capitalisation rose to N20.09 trillion from N20.06 trillion.
Trading activity was mixed as the volume traded rose 1.8% to 302.7 million units, while value traded fell by 23.2% to settle at N2.8 billion. The most traded stocks by volume were Sterling Bank (37.5 million units), Ecobank (27.4 million units), and Wema Bank (27.1 million units), while GTBank (N745.3 million), Seplat Petroleum (N506.8 million), and Zenith Bank (N228.6 million) led by value.
Across sectors, performance was mixed as 3 indices gained, while the other 3 lost. The oil & gas index led gainers, up 0.9 per cent amid buy interest in Seplat Petroleum (+1.5%). Likewise, the ICT and consumer goods indices rose by 0.7 percent and 0.2 percent respectively, following price appreciation in MTN Nigeria (+1.2%), Dangote Sugar (+0.3%), and Unilever Plc (+1.9%). Conversely, the Insurance, Banking, and Industrial Goods indices declined by 0.5%, 0.3%, and 3 basis points respectively due to sell-offs on Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc (-9.5%), GTBank (-1.6%), and Wapco Plc (-0.1%).
Investor sentiment strengthened to 1.3x from 0.7x recorded in the last trading session as 27 stocks advanced while 21 stocks declined. Cornerstone Insurance (+10.0%), Morison Industries (+9.7%), and Learn Africa (+6.5%) led gainers while Abbey Building and Developers (-9.5%), Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc (-9.5%), and CWG Plc (-7.3%) led decliners.
Also, the end of trading saw the NSE 30 Index increase by 0.21 percent to close at 1,594.36 points from 1,591.08 points recorded on the previous day. Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 157.96 million units. United Bank for Africa (UBA) and Unilever Plc were the key gainers, while Stanbic IBTC and Ecobank were the key losers.
FX Market
In the currency market, the Naira depreciated by 0.06 percent as the dollar was quoted at N412 from N411.75 at the NAFEX segment of the FX market while the parallel market rate closed at N502 per dollar. Most participants maintained bids of between N394 and N420.97 per dollar.
Treasury Bills Market
The NT-Bills secondary market closed on a flat note, with the average yield across the curve remaining unchanged at 6.35 percent. Average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities closed flat at 4 percent, 5.56 percent, and 8.42 percent, respectively.
At the Primary Market Auction held on Wednesday, the CBN offered NT-Bills worth N14.83 billion across the 91-day (N2.52 billion), 182-day (N1.70 billion), and 364-day (N10.61 billion) tenors.
In the OMO bills market, the average yield across the curve decreased by 2 basis points to close at 9.66 percent as against the last close of 9.68 percent. Mild buying interest was seen across long-term maturities with the average yield falling by 6 basis points. On the other hand, mild selling pressure was witnessed across medium-term maturities with the average yield rising by 3 basis points. However, the average yield across the short-term maturities remained unchanged at 9.36 percent. Yields on 9 bills compressed with the 25-Jan-22 maturity bill recording the highest yield decrease of 15 basis points, while the yields on 8 bills remained unchanged.
Bonds Market
The FGN bonds secondary market closed on a mildly positive note on Wednesday as the average bond yield across the curve cleared lower by 1 basis point to close at 9.86 percent from 9.87 percent on the previous trading day. The average yield across the long tenor of the curve declined by 7 basis points. However, the average yields across the short tenor and medium tenor of the curve remained unchanged. The 24-JUL-2045 maturity bond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 31 basis points, while the 27-MAR-2050 maturity bond was the worst performer with an increase in yield of 8 basis points.