…The total volume traded advanced by 20.3% to 599.25 million units, valued at N13.92 billion, and exchanged in 11,237 deals.
…GTCO was the most traded stock by volume and value at 72.00 million units and N3.28 billion, respectively
…So far, year-to-date depreciation against the greenback to 42.38% (43.90% the previous week).
TUE AUG 13 2024-theGBJournal| The Nigerian equities market struggled again Tuesday as sustained profit-taking activities in BUACEMENT (-3.9%) undermined the benchmark index.
The benchmark All-Share Index (ASI) ended 0.5% down to close at 97,390.01 points as the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns settled at -0.4% and +30.3%, respectively.
The total volume traded advanced by 20.3% to 599.25 million units, valued at N13.92 billion, and exchanged in 11,237 deals.
GTCO was the most traded stock by volume and value at 72.00 million units and N3.28 billion, respectively.
Sectoral performance was mixed, as the Banking (-1.9%), Insurance (-1.5%), Industrial Goods (-1.2%), and Oil & Gas (-0.1%) indices declined, while the Consumer Goods (+0.8%) index advanced.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative (0.9x), as 28 tickers posted losses relative to 25 gainers. OANDO (-10.0%) and LIVESTOCK (-8.1%) topped the losers’ list, while MECURE (+10.0%) and NEIMETH (+9.9%) recorded the most significant gains of the day.
The naira depreciated Tuesday by 0.7% to N1,582.09/US$1 at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM), heading back to its previous low of N1,605/US$1.
The performance of the currency is in contrast to last week’s when the rate appreciated to N1,574.20/US$1.
So far, year-to-date depreciation against the greenback to 42.38% (43.90% the previous week).
The parallel market rate remained unchanged at N1,605.00/US$1, although it touched a low of N1,622.00/US$1 last Thursday.
Meanwhile, The CBN re-adopted the Retail Dutch Auction System (rDAS) last week, nine years after it was suspended. The re-introduction marks further efforts to address FX challenges.
The auction results revealed that bids worth US$1.19bn were submitted from 32 authorised dealer banks, of which only bids amounting to US$876.26m from 26 banks were accepted and approved at a cut-off rate of N1,495.00/US$1, while the outstanding balance from 6 banks was disqualified, hence the appreciation of the
Naira during the week.
The reintroduction of the rDAS is a bold reform to the foreign exchange market, in our view, but its success will depend on the liquidity available to sustain participation.
The risk is that the parallel rate moves away from the official rate
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