Nigeria bourse rebounds with N7.9bn gains on interests in MTN, Total, FBN Holding

The Nigerian equities market made a rebound on Wednesday from the loss it made on Tuesday with a gain of about N8 billion as a result of buying interest in MTN Nigeria (+0.6%), Total Energies (+6.1%) and First Bank Holding (+0.7%).

The benchmark index therefore rose 0.04 percent to 37,872.55 points, and the market year to date loss remained unchanged at 6.0 percent, while market capitalisation rose to N19.73 trillion from N19.72 trillion.

However, the level of market trading activities was mixed as the volume traded fell by 2 basis points to 197.2 million units while the total value traded rose by 11.4 percent to N2.1 billion. The most traded stocks by volume were UBA (35.9m units), Access Bank (28.6m units), and Zenith Bank (17.6m units), while Zenith Bank (N424.7m), MTN Nigeria (N332.9m), and Guaranty Trust Company (N304.5m) led by value.

Across the various sectors, the performance was mixed as 2 indices gained, 2 lost, while the industrial and consumer goods indices closed flat. The oil & gas and ICT indices gained 0.6 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, on the back of buying interest in Total Energies (+6.1%) and MTN Nigeria (+0.6%). Conversely, the banking and insurance indices dipped by 0.9 percent and 0.3 percent, respectively, due to selling pressure on Zenith Bank (-1.2%), Access Bank (-2.2%), and Linkage Assurance (-5.4%).

As majorly determined by the breadth of the market, investors’ sentiment strengthened to 1.5x from 1.2x recorded in the last trading session as 17 stocks gained while 11 stocks lost. Capital Hotel (+10.0%), NCR (+9.9%), and Unity Bank (+6.8%) led gainers while Linkage Assurance (-5.4%), Cornerstone Assurance (-5.4%) and Oando Plc (-4.1%) led decliners.

At the close of trading midweek, the NGX 30 Index marginally increased by 0.004 percent to close at 1,613.85 points from 1,613.78 points recorded on the previous day. Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 124.62 million units. Total and Fidelity were the key gainers, while Access and Sterling were the key losers.

At the I&E FX segment of the currency market, the naira appreciated by 0.13 percent as the dollar was quoted at N411.22 against the last close of N411.75. At the FMDQ spot market, the local currency appreciated by 0.01 percent to N411.18 for the greenback as most participants maintained bids of between N400 and N412.50 to the dollar.

The Nigerian treasury bills secondary market closed on a negative note with the average yield across the curve increasing by 17 basis points to close at 7.03 percent from 6.86 percent on the previous day. The average yields across medium-term and long-term maturities expanded by 36 basis points and 19 basis points, respectively. However, the average yield across the short-term maturities closed flat at 4.58 percent. Yields on 10 bills advanced with the 17-Mar-22 maturity bill recording the highest yield increase of 48 basis points, while yields on 10 bills remained unchanged.

At the OMO bills market, the average yield across the curve declined by 23 basis points to close at 9.53 percent as against the last close of 9.76 per cent. Buying interest was seen across short-term and medium-term maturities with average yields falling by 48 basis points and 26 basis points, respectively. However, the average yield across the long-term maturities closed flat at 10.17 percent. Yields on 15 bills compressed with the 10-Aug-21 maturity bill recording the highest yield decline of 78 basis points, while yields on 9 bills remained unchanged.

The FGN bonds secondary market closed on a mildly negative note on Wednesday, as the average bond yield across the curve cleared higher by 8 bps to close at 9.82 percent from 9.74 percent on the previous day. Average yields across short tenor, medium tenor, and long tenor of the curve expanded by 9 basis points, 2 basis points, and 5 basis points, respectively. The 15-JUL-2021 maturity bond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 30 basis points, while FGNSB 15-JAN-2022 and FGNSB 16-JAN-2022 bonds were the worst performers with an increase in yield of 41 basis points each.