WED. 29 MARCH 2023-theGBJournal | Nigerian equities market ended its four uninterrupted sessions of losses Wednesday, as the benchmark Index rose by 0.20% to settle at 53,603.80 points.
Bullish sentiment in index heavyweight, DANGCEM (+5.07%) alongside ZENITHBANK (+2.80%), GTCO (+1.61%) and WAPCO (+1.98%) pushed the broader index into positive territory. Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return rose to 4.59%, while the market capitalization gained N57.49bn to close at N29.20trn.
Trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 58.74%.
A total of 236.07m shares valued at N3.26bn were exchanged in 3,906 deals. TRANSCORP (+7.14%) led the volume chart with 91.39m units traded, while ZENITHBANK (+2.80%) led the value chart in deals worth N696.21m.
Market breadth closed positive at a 1.73-to-1 ratio with advancing issues outnumbering declining ones. OANDO (+9.84%) topped eighteen others on the leader’s log, while MAYBAKER (-8.70%) led ten others on the laggard’s table.
Dividend Information
| Company | Dividend (Bonus) | Closure Date | Payment Date |
| BUACEMENT | N2.80 (final) | 11-Aug-23 | 24-Aug-23 |
| STANBIC | N2.00 (final) | 12-Apr-23 | 26-May-23 |
| NESTLE | N36.50 (final) | 28-Apr-23 | 18-May-23 |
| SEPLAT | $0.075 (final) | 19-Apr-23 | 10-May-23 |
| ZENITHBANK | N3.20 (final) | 17-Apr-23 | 2-May-23 |
| WAPCO | N2.00 (final) | 11-Apr-23 | 28-Apr-23 |
| NB | N1.03 (final) | 17-Mar-23 | 26-Apr-23 |
| DANGCEM | N20.00 (final) | 31-Mar-23 | 24-Apr-23 |
Activities in the Treasury bills secondary market were quiet, as the average yield closed flat at 5.8%. Similarly, the average yield was unchanged at 4.0% in the OMO segment.
In the same vein, the Treasury bond secondary market traded on a calm note, as the average yield stayed flat at 13.0%. Across the benchmark curve, the average yield pared at the short (-1bp) end as investors demanded the MAR-2024 (-2bps) bond. The average yield was unchanged at the mid and long segments.
The overnight lending rate expanded by 100bps to 19.0%, in the absence of any significant funding pressures on the system.
The naira appreciated by 0.1% to NGN461.24/USD at the I&E window.
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