Price decline in Zenith, Flour Mills and GTBank results in loss of N12.1bn on the NGX, market cap down to N19.92trn

Charles Abuede

At the close of trade on Wednesday on the NGX, market investors lost N12.1 billion from the bearish sentiment which persisted on the local bourse with the All-Share Index falling by 0.06 per cent to close at 38,233.68 points following price decline in Zenith Bank (-1.1%), Flour Mill of Nigeria (-5.3%), and GTBank (-0.7%). As a result, the market year to date loss worsened to -5.1 per cent while market capitalisation declined to settle at N19.928 trillion from N19.940 trillion as on the previous day.

Similarly, the level of trading activity was mixed as the volume traded fell by 18.8 per cent to 203.1 million units while the value traded rose by 17 per cent to N1.8 billion. The most traded stocks by volume were Fidelity Bank (24.4m units), Zenith Bank (22.1m units), and Mutual Benefits Assurance (16.9m units) while Zenith Bank (N508.0m), GTBank (N368.2m), and UAC Nigeria (N131.4m) led by value.

Across the sectors, performance was mixed as 2 indices lost, 1 gained, while 3 closed flat. The banking and consumer goods lost 0.4 per cent and 8 basis points respectively, following sell-offs in Zenith Bank (-1.1%), GTBank (-0.7%), Flour Mill of Nigeria (-5.3%), and Dangote Sugar (-0.3%). Conversely, the insurance index emerged as the lone gainer and advancing by 1.2 per cent due to price appreciation in Lasaco Insurance (+9.1%) and AXA Mansard (+1.2%). However, the oil & gas, industrial goods, and ICT indices closed flat.

Investor sentiment on Wednesday strengthened to 1.4x from 0.6x in the last trading session as 20 stocks advanced while 14 declined. John Holt (+9.6%), Vitafoam Plc (+9.2%) and Lasaco Assurance (+9.1%) led gainers while FTN Cocoa Processing Company (-7.3%), NPF Microfinance Bank (-5.6%) and Flour Mills of Nigeria (-5.3%) led decliners.

NSE 30

The NSE 30 Index decreased by 0.13 per cent to close at 1,551.40 points as against 1,553.40 points as on the previous day. Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 96.52 million units. Access Bank and Ecobank were the key gainers, while Flour Mills and Zenith Bank were the key losers.

FX Market

At the NAFEX FX market segment, the Naira appreciated by 0.02 per cent as the dollar was quoted at N411.50 against the last close of N411.56. Most participants maintained bids between N363 and N420.25 per dollar.

Treasury bills

The NT-Bills secondary market closed on a negative note with average yield across the curve increasing by 12 basis points to close at 5.87 per cent from 5.75 per cent on the previous day. Average yield across medium-term and long-term maturities widened by 25 basis points and 6 basis points, respectively. However, the average yield across the short-term maturities closed flat at 3.03 per cent. Yields on 13 bills advanced with the 16-Sep-21 maturity bill recording the highest yield increase of 35 basis points, while yields on 5 bills remained unchanged.

In the OMO bills market, the average yield across the curve increased by 4 basis points to close at 9.74 per cent as against the last close of 9.70 per cent. Selling pressure was seen across short-term and medium-term maturities with average yields rising by 22 basis points and 2 basis points, respectively. However, the average yields on long-term maturities closed flat at 10.16 per cent. Yields on 6 bills advanced with the 8-Jun-21 maturity bill recording the highest yield increase of 36 basis points, while yields on 16 bills remained unchanged.

At the Primary Market Auction held on Wednesday, the CBN offered NT-Bills worth N63.18 billion across 91-day (N24.18 billion), 182-day (N19.16 billion), and 364-day (N19.84 billion) tenors.

The Bonds

The FGN bonds secondary market closed on a neutral note Wednesday, as the average bond yield across the curve remained unchanged at 9.83 per cent. Average yields across short tenor and long tenor of the curve expanded by 1 basis point and 4 basis points, respectively. However, the average yield across the medium tenor of the curve declined by 6 basis points. The 26-APR-2029 maturity bond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 21 basis points, while the 18-APR-2037 maturity bond was the worst performer with an increase in yield of 21 basis points.