TUE 23 FEB, 2021-theGBJournal- Trading in the local bourse ended the day mixed but with bullish bias, as the All-Share Index notched a 3bps gain to close at 40,164.86 points. Precisely, the positive earnings release from ZENITHBANK (+4.8%) improved investors’ sentiments and supported market performance, despite sell-offs of NB (-8.5%). Consequently, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date losses moderated to -5.3% and -0.3%, respectively.
The total volume of trades increased by 16.8% to 337.96 million units, valued at NGN3.85 billion, and exchanged in 5,232 deals. FBNH was the most traded stock by volume at 57.56 million units, while ZENITHBANK was the most traded stock by value at NGN820.55 million.
Performance across sectors was mixed – the Consumer Goods (+1.6%) and Insurance (+0.9%) indices recorded declines, while the Insurance and Consumer Goods indices closed flat. The Banking (+1.7%) index was the sole gainer.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment remained negative (0.7x), as 22 tickers declined, relative to 16 gainers. LASACO (-9.9%) and AFRIPRUD (-9.9%) topped the losers’ list, while LIVESTOCK (+7.1%) and AIICO (+7.1%) recorded the largest gains of the day.
Currency
The naira appreciated by 0.3% to N408.60/USD at the I&E window but was unchanged at NGN480.00/USD in the parallel market.
Money Market & Fixed Income
The overnight lending rate fell by 13.25 ppts to 2.0%, following inflows from OMO maturities (NGN476.42 billion) and FGN bond coupon payment (NGN49.75 billion).
The NTB secondary market traded in a lull, as market participants anticipate higher yields at the bi-weekly NTB primary auction holding tomorrow. Thus, the average yield was flat at 1.5%. Elsewhere, the OMO segment’s average yield declined by 20bps to 6.2%.
Proceedings at the Treasury bonds secondary market were bullish, as the average yield declined slightly by 2bps to 9.3%. Across the curve, average yield was flat at the short end but pared at the mid (-3bps) and long (-2bps) segments, following demand for the FEB-2028 (-12bps) and JUL-2045 (-16bps) bonds, respectively.-With Cordros Research.
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