NGX down by N148bn from sell-offs in BUACem, FBN, Zenith Bank on Tuesday

Charles Abuede

Market investors lost N148 billion due to the absence of a positive catalyst to stir bullish trade performance in the equities market. Thus, the market on Tuesday extended Monday’s negative sentiment as the benchmark index fell by 0.72 per cent to close at 39,022.52 points due to sell-offs in BUA Cement (-5.7%), First Bank Holding (-2.7%), and Zenith Bank (-0.8%). As a result, the market year to date loss worsened to -3.1 per cent as market capitalisation declined to N20.34 trillion from N20.49 trillion as on Monday.

Similarly, the level of trading activity waned as volume and value traded declined 42.8 per cent and 48.4 per cent respectively to 204.6 million units and N1.8 billion. The most traded stocks by volume were Courtville Plc (27.1m units), Fidelity Bank (23.4m units), and, Zenith Bank (18.5m units) while Zenith Bank (N435.5m), BUA Cement (N223.2m), and Seplat Petroleum (N175.8m) led by value.

Across the sectoral front, there was a mixed performance as 3 indicators lost, 2 gained while only the ICT sector was flat. The Industrial goods index led the laggards, down 2.6 per cent due to selling pressure on BUA Cement (-5.7%) and Portland Paint (-9.9%). In the same vein, the Insurance and Consumer goods indices fell by 1.1 per cent and 5 basis points respectively on the back of price depreciation in Cornerstone Insurance (-7.3%), Linkage Assurance (-5.8%), and Champion Breweries (-9.7%). On the flip side, the Oil & gas and banking indices rose by 0.3 per cent and 3 basis points as a result of buying interest in Eterna Plc (+9.9%), Oando Plc (+0.7%), Wema Bank (+5.5%), and Stanbic IBTC (+1.6%).

However, the investor sentiment weakened on Tuesday to 0.7x from the 1.6x recorded in the previous day’s trading session as 15 stocks advanced while 22 declined. ABC Transport Plc (+10.0%), Eterna Plc (+9.9%), and Transcorp Hotels (+9.8%) led gainers while Portland Paint (-9.9%), Champion Breweries (-9.7%), and SCOA (-9.3%) led decliners.

NSE 30

At the NSE 30 on Tuesday, the Index decreased by 1.00 per cent to close at 1,555.92 points as against 1,571.69 points as on the previous day. Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 93.27 million units. Union Bank and Ecobank were the key gainers, while BUA Cement and Fidelity bank were the key losers.

In the foreign exchange market, the local currency lost strength against the dollar by 0.03 per cent to trade at N411.63 to the greenback at the I&E FX market, as against the last close of N411.50. Most participants maintained bids between N395 and N425.90 per dollar.

T-bills market

The NT-Bills secondary market closed on a negative note, with the average yield across the curve increasing by 10 basis points to close at 5.41 per cent from 5.31 per cent on the previous day. Average yields across short-term and medium-term maturities widened by 36 basis points and 13 basis points, respectively, while the average yield across long-term maturities fell by 2 basis points. Meanwhile, maximum selling pressure was seen in the NTB 1-Jul-21 (+54 bps), NTB 15-Jul-21 (+48 bps) and NTB 29-Jul-21 (+41 bps) maturity bills.

In the OMO bills market, the average yield across the curve increased by 32 basis points to close at 8.97 per cent as against the last close of 8.65 per cent. Selling pressure was seen across short-term and medium-term maturities with average yields rising by 129 basis points and 22 basis points, respectively. However, the average yield across long-term maturities remained unchanged at 10.07 per cent. Yields on 11 bills advanced with the 8-Jun-21 maturity bill recording the highest yield increase of 218 basis points, while yields on 3 compressed with the 8-Feb-22 maturity bills registering the highest yield decline of 10 basis points.

Bond market

FGN bonds secondary market closed on a positive note today, as the average bond yield across the curve cleared lower by 2 basis points to close at 9.35 per cent from 9.37 per cent on the previous day. Average yields across the short tenor and medium tenor of the curve compressed by 2 basis points and 1 basis point, respectively, while the average yield across the long tenor of the curve widened by 1 basis point. The FGN Sovereign Bond 15-MAY-2022 bond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 18 basis points, while the FGN Sovereign Bond 15-AUG-2021 bond was the worst performer with an increase in yield of 25 basis points.

Meanwhile, the DMO has scheduled an FGN bond auction for Wednesday to offer bonds worth N150 billion through re-opening of the 10-year (N50 billion), 15-year (N50 billion), and 30-year (N50 billion) tenors. The bond settlement will take place on May 21, 2021.