Highlights of market Activities
| Indicators | Current | Change (%) | YTD |
| All-Share Index | 54,936.11 | +0.06 | +7.19 |
| Market Cap. (N ‘trillion) | 29.93 | +0.06 | +7.21 |
| Volume (millions) | 134.15 | +5.01 | |
| Value (N ‘billion) | 1.33 | -16.15 |
WED. 22 MARCH 2023-theGBJournal | Nigerian stocks closed slightly higher Wednesday with the benchmark index, the NGX All-Share Index gaining 0.06% to close at 54,936.11 points.
Gains in GTCO (+2.44%), FBNH (+0.46%) and FIDELITY (+1.35%) outweighed losses in ZENITHBANK (-0.20%), UCAP (-2.46%) and WEMABANK (-1.23%). Consequently, the ASI year-to-date (YTD) rose to 7.19%, while market capitalization increased by N17.13bn to close at N29.93trn.
Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 16.15%. A total of 134.15m shares valued at N1.33bn were exchanged in 2,479 deals. TRANSCORP (+1.56%) led the volume chart with 28.12m units while GTCO (+2.44%) led the value chart in deals worth N336.90m.
Market breadth closed negative at a 1.25-to-1 ratio with declining issues outnumbering advancing ones. FTNCOCOA (-6.90%) topped nine others on the laggard’s log, while WAPIC (+2.44%) led seven others on the leader’s table.
Dividends Information
| Company | Dividend (Bonus) | Closure Date | Payment Date |
| BUACEMENT | N2.80 (final) | 11-Aug-23 | 24-Aug-23 |
| STANBIC | N2.00 (final) | 12-Apr-23 | 26-May-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 |
| DANGCEM | N20.00 (final) | 31-Mar-23 | 24-Apr-23 |
| MTNN | N10.00 (final) | 28-Mar-23 | 20-Apr-23 |
| DANGSUGAR | N1.50 (final) | 27-Mar-23 | 15-Apr-23 |
At the currency market, the naira appreciated by 0.1% to NGN461.50/USD at the I&E window.
The overnight lending rate expanded by 119bps to 17.6%, following the settlement for this month’s FGN bond PMA (NGN563.36 billion) that was held on Monday.
Meanwhile, trading activities in the NTB secondary market were bearish, as the average yield expanded by 31bps to 5.7%.
Across the curve, the average yield expanded at the short (+12bps), mid (+42bps), and long (+42bps) segments as participants sold off the 78DTM (+37bps), 176DTM (+42bps), and 337DTM (+52bps) bills, respectively. Elsewhere, the average yield was flat at 3.0% in the OMO segment.
The FGN bond secondary market traded with mixed sentiments, but 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 MAR-2027 (+6bps) bond but contracted at the long (-4bps) end due to demand for the APR-2049 (-23bps) bond. Conversely, the average yield was flat at the mid segment.
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