The domestic equities market kicked off the week on a bearish note, with profit-taking activities in MTNN (-5.5%) weighing on overall market performance. The All-Share Index dipped by 0.7% to close at 103,659.81 points. Despite this, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns moderated to +2.5% and +38.6%, respectively. Total volume traded decreased by 10.8% to 841.55 million units, valued at NGN19.33 billion, and exchanged in 13,674 deals. FBNH emerged as the most traded stock by both volume (332.30 million units) and value (NGN8.95 billion).
Sectoral performance was mixed, with the Insurance index advancing by 2.7%, while the Banking index declined by 2.3%. The Consumer Goods, Industrial Goods, and Oil & Gas indices closed flat. Market breadth, as measured by the ratio of losers to gainers, was negative (1.0x), with 27 tickers recording losses compared to 26 gainers. ABBEYBDS (-9.7%) and LIVESTOCK (-9.7%) experienced the most significant losses, while MEYER (+10.0%) and DAARCOMM (+10.0%) led the gainers’ list.
Currency
The naira appreciated by 1.1%, reaching NGN1,419.86/USD at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM).
Money Market & Fixed Income: The overnight lending rate expanded by 170 basis points to 22.9%, driven by the absence of significant funding pressure on the system.
In the NTB secondary market, bearish sentiments prevailed, causing the average yield to advance by 20 basis points to 9.9%. While the short end closed flat, the mid-segment witnessed a marginal decline of 1 basis point, attributed to mild interest in the 171-day Treasury bill. However, the long end experienced an expansion of 40 basis points as investors sold off the 290-day bill. In the OMO segment, the average yield declined marginally by 1 basis point to 9.6%.
The FGN bonds secondary market also witnessed bearish activities, resulting in a 58 basis points expansion in the average yield, closing at 15.3%. Across the benchmark curve, the short, mid, and long segments recorded increases of 20 basis points, 39 basis points, and 87 basis points, respectively. Sell pressures on the FEB-2028, JUN-2033, and JUL-2034 bonds were identified as key drivers of the upward movement in yields.
In summary, the equities market faced profit-taking pressures, the naira strengthened against the dollar, and the fixed income market experienced bearish sentiments with an expansion in average yields.
