…Nigeria’s FX reserves paused the five-week descent as the gross reserves level increased by US$10.76 million to US$32.12 billion (24 April).
SAT APRIL 27 2024-theGBJournal|Over the course of the week, losses in MTNN (-9.82% w/w), ZENITHBANK (-8.17% w/w), and FBNH (-16.26% w/w), outweighed buy interest in GTCO (+5.97% w/w), UBA (+1.32% w/w), and FIDELITYBK (+5.62% w/w) driving the market’s negative performance.
Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return on the index slipped to 31.27%, while the market capitalization lost N784.72 billion w/w to close at N55.51 trillion.
In Friday’s trading session, activity was mixed albeit with a bearish tilt as the benchmark index closed marginally lower by 2bps to close at 98,152.91 points.
Continued selloff in blue-chip ZENITHBANK (-0.91%), GTCO (-1.25%) and NESTLE (-3.01%) offset the investors interest in FBNH (+10.00%), UBA (+0.88%), and ACCESSCORP (+3.75%).
Having lost in three of the five trading sessions this week, the ASI closed 1.39% w/w lower.
Analysis of Friday’s market activities showed trade turnover settled lower relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions down by 22.92%.
A total of 265.07 million shares valued at N5.02 billion were exchanged in 6,582 deals.
UBA (-0.88%) led the volume and value chart with 42.35 million units traded in deals worth N980 million.
Market breadth closed negative at a 0.95-to-1 ratio with declining issues outnumbering the advancing ones.
SOVRENINS (-10.00%) topped eighteen others on the laggard’s table while FBNH (+10.00%) led seventeen others on the leader’s log.
At the forex market, the naira depreciated by 12.6% to N1,339.23/US$, even as the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sold c.US$80 million to banks within the range of N1,100.00 – N1,150.00.
Total turnover at the NAFEM (as of 25 April) decreased by 37.5% WTD to USD893.56 million, as trades were consummated within the N1,000.00 – N1,435.00/USD band.
In the Forwards market, the naira rates depreciated across the 1-month (-13.3% to N1,351.53/USD), 3-month (-13.1% to N1,393.75/USD), 6-month (-11.9% to N1,444.89/USD) and 1-year (-10.8% to N1,577.43/USD) contracts.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s FX reserves paused the five-week descent as the gross reserves level increased by US$10.76 million to US$32.12 billion (24 April).
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