…The NASD Securities Index (NSI) and market capitalisation each declined 2.14% respectively
MON MAR 30 2026-theGBJournal| The Nigerian equities market closed on a mildly negative note, with the NGX All-Share Index declining by 0.2% to 200,484.44 points, amid shifting macroeconomic signals.
Investor sentiment remained cautious as market participants digested the dual impact of declining Treasury yields and persistent weakness in the Naira, both of which continue to influence asset allocation decisions.
Losses in WAPCO (-3.3%), ZENITHBANK (-2.9%), GTCO (-1.0%) and DANGSUGAR (-2.8%) dragged the All-Share Index. Consequently, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled at +4.2% and +29.1%, respectively while market capitalization settled at N128,693 trillion.
The total volume traded declined by 0.4% to 593.10 million units, valued at N25.62billion, and exchanged in 60,102 deals.
ACCESSCORP was the most traded stock by volume at 86.64 million units while FIRSTHOLDCO was the most traded stock by value at NGN4.26billion.
Sectoral performance was largely bearish as the Insurance (-1.4%), Banking (-0.8%), Industrial Goods (-0.5%) and Consumer Goods (-1bp) indices closed lower, while the Oil & Gas (+0.1%) index was the sole gainer of the day.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative (0.8x), with 26 tickers gaining and 32 losing. NSLTECH (-10.0%) and MAYBAKER (-9.4%) led the laggards, while AUSTINLAZ (+10.0%) and TRANSEXPR (+9.7%) posted the most significant gains of the day.
The NASD OTC market also opened the week on a bearish note, as the NASD Securities Index (NSI) and market capitalisation each declined 2.14% respectively.
Market activity weakened materially, with traded volume and value shedding 63.73% and 59.58%, respectively.
On the price movement front, SDIPWAPLC (+9.08%) led the gainers, while SDFCWAMCO (-11.11%) topped the decliners for the session.
Meanwhile, the Naira’s downward trend has added another layer of concern, raising questions around inflationary pressures and corporate earnings outlooks.
The currency fell 2bps to N1,383.63/US$ at close of official trade.
Last week, the Naira weakened across both the official and parallel market segments, reflecting persistent FX demand pressures.
At the official window, the currency depreciated by 1.93% w/w (N26.67) to close at N1,380.58/US$1, while the parallel market recorded a 1.06% w/w decline to N1,420.00/US$1.
Despite the broad depreciation, the gap between the official and parallel markets narrowed to N39.42/US$1 (from N51.10/US$1), suggesting relative alignment across FX segments
As currency volatility persists, market players are likely to remain selective, favoring fundamentally strong stocks while closely monitoring policy signals and liquidity conditions.
At the fixed income market, the Treasury bills secondary market was bullish, with the average yield contracting by 9bps to 17.7%.
Across the curve, the average yield contracted in the short (-2bps), mid (-2bps), and long (-16bps) segments, driven by demand for the 87DTM (-2bps), 171DTM (-3bps), and 262DTM (-83bps) bills, respectively.
Similarly, the average yield contracted by 4bps to 20.3% in the OMO segment.
The FGN bond secondary market traded in a lull, with the average yield unchanged at 15.5%.
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