THUR 07 APRIL, 2022-theGBJournal| The domestic bourse closed lower following the markdown in MTNN. Thus, the NGX ASI dipped by 0.5% to close at 46,543.51 points. Accordingly, the Month-to-Date loss increased to -0.9%, while the Year-to-Date return moderated to +9.0%.
The total volume of trades declined by 6.7% to 244.04 million units, valued at NGN2.35 billion, and exchanged in 4,710 deals. FIDELITYBK was the most traded stock by volume at 44.42 million units, while ZENITHBANK was the most traded stock by value at NGN531.59 million.
Performance across sectors was mixed, as the Consumer Goods (-0.2%), Banking (-0.1%), and Insurance (-0.1%) indices declined, while the Oil & Gas (+0.4%) index closed higher. The Industrial Goods index closed flat.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was positive (1.2x), as 18 tickers gained relative to 15 losers. CONOIL (+9.9%) and RTBRISCOE (+9.8%) topped the gainers’ list, while VERITASKAP (-8.7%) and UACN (-7.5%) recorded the most significant losses of the day.
Currency
The naira was flat at NGN416.67/USD at the I&E window.
Money & Fixed Income
The overnight lending rate contracted by 275bps to 5.8%, in the absence of any significant funding pressure on the system.
In today’s session, the Treasury bills secondary market traded with bearish sentiments as the average yield expanded by 9bps to 3.3%. Across the curve, most of the day’s activity was witnessed at the long (+25bps) end, as market participants demanded the 322DTM (+70bps) bill; the average yield was flat at the short and mid segments. Similarly, the average yield was unchanged at 3.6% in the OMO segment.
Activities in the Treasury bonds secondary market were mixed, albeit with a bullish tilt, as the average yield pared by 1bp to 10.7%. Across the benchmark curve, the average yield dipped at the short (-1bp) and long (-1bp) ends as investors demanded the APR-2023 (-2bps) and MAR-2035 (-6bps) bonds, respectively. However, the average yield was unchanged at the mid segment.
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