On the last activity day of the second quarter of the 2021 trading year, market performance was mixed with weakened investor sentiments. However, buying interests in Nestle Plc (+10.0%), MTN Nigeria (+0.6%), and Oando Plc (+9.7%) buoyed positive performance on the local bourse as the benchmark index rose by 0.71 percent to 37,907.28 points. Accordingly, the market year to date loss improved to -5.9 percent while market capitalisation grew by N138.9 billion to N19.76 trillion from N19.62.
The level of trading activity was mixed as the volume traded fell by 1.1 percent to 213.7 million units while the value traded grew by 19.2 percent to N3.2 billion. The most traded stocks by volume were Wema Bank (18.3m units), Oando Plc (15.6m units), and Mutual Benefits Assurance (15.1m units); while MTN Nigeria (N1.7bn), Zenith Bank (N265.1m), and Nestle Plc (N213.7m) led by value.
Across the sectoral fronts, the market performance was mixed as three indices gained, two indices lost while the industrial goods index was flat. The consumer goods index led the gainers, up by 4.8 percent, largely attributed to price appreciation in Nestle Plc (+10.0%), Flour Mills (+2.8%), and Unilever Plc (+2.3%). Similarly, the oil & gas and ICT indices rose by 0.7 percent and 0.4 percent respectively, due to buying interest in Oando Plc (+9.7%) and MTN Nigeria (+0.6%). On the contrary, the banking and insurance indices declined by 0.1 percent apiece due to sell pressure on Access Bank (-0.6%), Sterling Bank (-3.1%), Sovereign trust Insurance (-7.1%), and Aiico Insurance (-1.0%).
Also, investors sentiment weakened to 1.3x from 2.2x recorded in the last trading session as 20 stocks gained while 16 stocks lost. Nestle Plc (+10.0%), Ikeja Hotel (+9.9%), and Oando plc (+9.7%) led gainers while BOC Gas (-10.0%), Sovereign Trust Insurance (-7.1%), and PZ Cussons(-7.1%) led decliners.
NGX 30
At the close of mid-week trading, the NGX 30 Index rose by 0.85 percent to close at 1,594.87 points as against 1,581.41 points on the previous day. Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 91.36 million units. Nestle and Flour Mills were the key gainers, while Sterling and International Breweries were the key losers.
FX Market
In the currency market, the naira depreciated by 0.16 percent as the dollar was quoted at N411.50 to the dollar, as against the last close of N410.83 per dollar. Also, at the parallel market, the naira traded above N500 to a dollar as in the previous session. Most participants maintained bids at between N387.67 and N420.90 per dollar.
Treasury Bills Market
The Nigerian T-Bills secondary market closed on a flat note, with the average yield across the curve remaining unchanged at 6.58 percent. Average yields across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities closed flat at 4.35 percent, 5.46 percent, and 8.10 percent, respectively. However, mild selling pressure was seen in the NTB 9-Jun-22 maturity bill with a yield increase of 5 bps.
Meanwhile, at the Primary Market Auction held on Wednesday, the CBN offered Nigerian T-Bills worth N81.74 billion across 91-day (N2.88 billion), 182-day (N20.00 billion), and 364-day (N58.86 billion) tenors.
In the OMO bills market, the average yield across the curve decreased by one basis point to close at 9.87 percent as against the last close of 9.88 percent. Mild buying interest was seen across the short-term maturities with the average yield falling by 5 bps, while the average yield across the long-term maturities increased by two basis points. However, the average yield across the medium-term maturities closed flat at 9.79 percent. Buying interest was seen in the OMO 10-Aug-21 (-14 bps), OMO 17-Aug-21 (-9 bps), and OMO 24-Aug-21 (-5 bps) maturity bills. On the other hand, selling pressure was seen in the OMO 1-Mar-22 (+10 bps) and OMO 15-Mar-22 (+6 bps) maturity bills, while yields on 19 bills remained unchanged.
Bond Market
The FGN bonds secondary market closed on a flat note Wednesday as the average bond yield across the curve remained unchanged at 9.78 percent. Average yield across the short tenor of the curve increased by one basis point, while the average yield across the long tenor declined by one basis point. However, the average yield across the medium tenor of the curve remained unchanged. The 18-MAR-2036 maturity bond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 12 basis points, while the FGN 10-JUL-2022 Sukuk bond was the worst performer with an increase in yield of 5 basis points. The secondary bond market may witness slight investor demand in the near term.
