TUE MAR 31 2026-theGBJournal| Nigeria’s equities market staged a modest recovery on Tuesday advancing 0.4% to 201,287.81 points, reversing part of the losses recorded in the previous session.
The rebound was driven by renewed bargain hunting in select blue-chip stocks, as investors took advantage of lower entry prices following Monday’s downturn.
MTNN (+5.9%), WAPCO (+1.5%0, PZ (+4.59%) and NB (+2.8%) spurred the recovery despite losses recorded in GTCO (-2.00%), ZENITHBANK (-4.25%), and ACCESSCORP (-0.58%).
Consequently, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns advanced to +4.4% and +29.4%, respectively, while market capitalisation rose by N515.68bn (+0.40%) to settle at N129.21 trillion.
The total volume of trades increased by 49.7% to 887.68 million units, valued at N35.56billion, and exchanged in 53,436 deals.
WEMABANK was the most traded stock by volume at 184.13 million units while MTNN was the most traded stock by value at N9.08 billion.
Sectoral performance was mixed as the Consumer Goods (+0.2%) , Industrial Goods (+0.2%) and Oil & Gas (+0.1%) indices closed higher, while the Insurance (-3.6%) and Banking (-1.8%) indices closed lower.
As measured by market breadth, market sentiment was negative (0.4x), as 20 tickers gained relative to 48 losers.
MULTIVERSE (+9.9%) and INTENEGINS (+9.5%) posted the most significant gains of the day, while NPFMCRFBK (-10.0%) and SKYAVN (-10.0%) led the laggards.
On the contrary, the NASD OTC market extended its bearish run, as both the NASD Securities Index (NSI) and market capitalisation declined by 0.23%, respectively.
Market activity was mixed in today’s session, with traded volume surging by 137.89%, while traded value fell sharply by 65.16%.
On the price movement front, SDUBNPROP (+6.82%) emerged as the top gainer, while SD11PLC (-10.89%) recorded the steepest decline for the session.
In the currency market, the naira posted a recovery against the US dollar, supported by improved liquidity and a slight easing in demand pressures.
The official FX rate appreciated by 0.1% to N1,382.58/US$ from Monday’s N1,383.63/US$.
The appreciation offers a measure of relief after recent bouts of volatility, reinforcing cautious optimism around near-term exchange rate stability.
Meanwhile, the fixed income space presented a mixed picture, with Treasury yields trending in different directions across maturities.
While some segments reflected sustained investor demand, others adjusted upward, highlighting ongoing portfolio rebalancing amid shifting macroeconomic signals.
The Treasury bills average yield remained unchanged at 17.7% after a quiet day of trading.
Across the curve, the average yield expanded at the short (+8bps) end following the sell pressure on the 9DTM (+33bps) bill but contracted at the mid (-1bp) and long (-4bps) segments driven by the demand for the 177DTM (-1bps), and 352DTM (-33bps) bills, respectively.
The average yield expanded by 15bps to 20.5% in the OMO segment.
Activities in the FGN bond secondary market were calm, with a bearish undertone, as the average yield expanded by 1bp to 15.5%.
Across the benchmark curve, the average yield expanded at the mid segment (+4bps) due to the profit-taking activities on the JUN-2033 (+20bps) bond. The average yield remained unchanged at the short and long ends.
Similarly, the overnight lending rate contracted by 19bp to 22.1% in the absence of any significant funding pressures on the system.
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