THUR. 23 MARCH 2023-theGBJournal | Nigerian stocks closed lower Thursday as selloffs in GTCO (-0.20%) and ACCESSCORP (-2.25%) offset renewed demand for ZENITHBANK (+0.20%) and TRANSCORP (+5.38%).
However, the market remains on track for a weekly gain in the month after the benchmark index, the NGX All-Share Index closed 0.02% to close at 54,924.08 points
The ASI’s year-to-date (YTD) return fell to 7.17%, while the market capitalization lost N6.55bn to close at N29.92trn amid the market uncertainty.
Meanwhile, trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 5.13%.
A total of 117.85m shares valued at N1.40bn were exchanged in 2,575 deals. TRANSCORP (+5.38%) led the volume chart with 23.40m units while MTNN (0.00%) led the value chart in deals worth N370.21m.
Market breadth closed negative at a 1.40-to-1 ratio with declining issues outnumbering advancing ones. LINKASSURE (-8.70%) topped thirteen others on the laggard’s log, while TRANSCOHOT (+8.32%) led nine others on the leader’s table.
Markets Highlights
| Indicators | Current | Change (%) | YTD |
| All-Share Index | 54,924.08 | -0.02 | +7.17 |
| Market Cap. (N ‘trillion) | 29.92 | -0.02 | +7.18 |
| Volume (millions) | 117.85 | -12.15 | |
| Value (N ‘billion) | 1.40 | +5.13 |
At the fixed income market, the Nigerian bonds secondary market traded with mixed sentiments, albeit with a bullish bias, as the average yield pared by 1bp to 12.9%.
Across the benchmark curve, the average yield expanded at the short (+1bp) end following the sell-off of the JAN-2026 (+7bps) bond but contracted at the long (-2bps) end as investors demanded the APR-2049 (-7bps) bond.
Meanwhile, the average yield was flat at the mid-segment.
Trading activities in the Treasury bills secondary market were muted, as the average yield was unchanged at 5.7%. Elsewhere, the average yield expanded by 101bps to 4.0% in the OMO segment.
The overnight lending rate expanded by 25bps to 19.0%, despite the inflow from FGN bonds coupon payment (NGN23.14 billion).
The naira closed flat at N461.67/USD at the I&E window.
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