…Overnight lending rate was unchanged at 11.0%
…FGN bond secondary market was bearish, as the average yield expanded by 3bps to 12.8%.
…The Treasury bills secondary traded in a lull
WED. 15 MARCH 2023-theGBJournal | Nigeria equities market was sharply lower Wednesday, with market breadth in deep negative territory. Declining issues eclipsed advancing ones, underscoring the bearish sentiments amid rocketing inflation numbers published today by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
UCAP (-9.30%) topped seventeen others on the laggard’s log, dominated by banking stocks. NGXGROUP (+4.87%) led seven others on the gainer’s list.
Meanwhile, the NGX All-Share Index closed 0.5% lower to 55,490.20 points, marking its fourth successive session decline.
Selloffs in ZENITHBANK (-4.60%), GTCO (-0.79%) and GEREGU (-6.46%) underpinned the market’s weak performance. As a result, the year-to-date (YTD) return fell to 8.27%, while the market capitalization shed N126.76bn to close at N30.23trn.
Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 21.02%.
A total of 181.19m shares valued at N3.41bn were exchanged in 3,908 deals. GTCO (-0.79%) led the volume and value charts with 33.85m units traded in deals worth N841.95m.
Market Highlights
| Indicators | Current | Change (%) | YTD |
| All-Share Index | 55,490.20 | -0.42 | +8.27 |
| Market Cap. (N ‘trillion) | 30.23 | -0.42 | +8.29 |
| Volume (millions) | 181.19 | -9.07 | |
| Value (N ‘billion) | 3.41 | +21.02 |
Dividend Information
| Company | Dividend (Bonus) | Closure Date | Payment Date |
| BUACEMENT | N2.80 (final) | 11-Aug-23 | 24-Aug-23 |
| NESTLE | N36.50 (final) | 28-Apr-23 | 18-May-23 |
| SEPLAT | $0.075 (final) | 19-Apr-23 | 10-May-23 |
| WAPCO | N2.00 (final) | 11-Apr-23 | 28-Apr-23 |
| NB | N1.03 (final) | 17-Mar-23 | 26-Apr-23 |
At money market, the overnight lending rate was unchanged at 11.0%, as the system liquidity closed at a net long position (N588.39 billion).
The Treasury bills secondary traded in a lull, as the average yield was unchanged at 4.4%. Similarly, the average yield closed flat at 3.0% in the OMO segment.
Trading in the FGN bond secondary market was bearish, as the average yield expanded by 3bps to 12.8%.
Across the benchmark curve, the average yield expanded at the short (+8bps) end due to profit-taking activities on the MAR-2027 (+40bps) bond but closed flat at the mid and long segments.
The naira appreciated by 0.1% to NGN461.09/USD at the I&E window.
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