Investors lost N116bn on Wednesday as sell pressures in MTN, Access Bank, Stanbic dragged the NSE-ASI

Charles Abuede

The local bourse continued in its staggering movement on Wednesday due to selling pressures in MTN Nigeria (-2.9%), Access Bank (-3.6%), and Stanbic IBTC (-1.0%) which dragged the All-Share Index lower by 0.57 per cent to settle at 39,045.13 points. As a result, the market year to date loss worsened to -3.0 per cent and leading to a loss of N116.1 billion by investors as market capitalisation decreased to N20.4 trillion. However, the level of trading activity was mixed as volume traded rose 3.3 per cent to 347.2 million units while the total transaction value fell 14.2 per cent to N2.8 billion. The most traded stocks by volume were Wema Bank (94.0m units), Union Bank (78.9m units), and Zenith Bank (22.1m units) while Seplat Petroleum (N519.9m), Zenith Bank (N500.2m), and Union Bank (N418.2m) led by value.

Across sectors was a mixed performance as 3 out of 6 indicators closed in the green. The Insurance index led gainers’ chat, rising 2.2 per cent due to buying interest in NEM Insurance (+9.5%), Aiico Insurance (+3.3%), and Linkage Assurance (+10.0%). Similarly, the consumer goods and oil & gas indices rose 0.4 per cent and 2 basis points respectively following price appreciation in Guinness Nigeria Plc (+7.3%), Dangote Sugar (+2.4%), and Oando Plc (+0.3%). Conversely, the ICT index led the laggards, down 1.4% on account of losses in MTN Nigerian (-2.9%). Likewise, the banking and industrial goods indices fell 0.8 per cent and 3 basis points respectively on the back of sell-offs in Access Bank (-3.6%), Stanbic IBTC (-1.0%), and Wapco Plc (-0.7%).

On the negative side, as seen in the market on Wednesday, the Investor sentiment which is measured by market breadth weakened to 0.8x from the 1.7x recorded previously as 18 stocks gained against 23 decliners. Linkage Assurance (+10.0%), Meyer Plc (+9.8%) and Prestige Assurance (+9.8%) were the top gainers while DAAR Communication (-8.7%), WEMA Bank (-8.1%) and University Press Limited (-7.8%) were the top decliners.

The NSE 30

Further afield, the NSE 30 index decreased by 0.66 per cent to close at 1,555.92 points as against 1,566.29 points as on the previous day. Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 168.25 million units. Guinness and Fidelity were the key gainers, while Access and MTN Nigeria were the key losers.

Forex market

In the foreign exchange market on Wednesday, the Naira appreciated by 0.08 per cent at the investors and exporters window as the dollar was quoted at N408.67 as against the last close of N409. It traded flat at the CBN official rate at N379 to the greenback as most market participants maintained bids between N400 and N411 per dollar.

Treasury Bills market

In bills segment of the market, the NT-Bills secondary market closed on a flat note, with the average yield across the curve remaining unchanged at 4.13 per cent. Average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities closed at 2.40 per cent, 3.68 per cent, and 5.34 per cent, respectively.

At the Primary Market Auction (PMA) held on Wednesday, the apex bank offered NT-Bills worth N95.68 billion across 91-day tenor (N10 billion), 182-day (N17.60 billion), and 364-day (N68.08 billion) tenors respectively.

In the OMO bills market, the average yield across the curve remained unchanged at 6.45 per cent. Average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities closed at 4.21 per cent, 5.76 per cent, and 7.27 per cent, respectively.

Bond market

Elsewhere in the bonds market, the FGN bonds secondary market closed on a neutral note as the average bond yield across the curve remained unchanged at 6.74 per cent. Average yield across long tenor of the curve expanded by 1 basis point, while the average yields across short tenor and medium tenor of the curve remained unchanged. The 24-JUL-2045 maturity bond was the worst performer, with an increase in yield of 5 basis points.