TUE. 04 APRIL 2023-theGBJournal | The bears continued to dominate the domestic bourse as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) extended losses by 0.29% to settle at 54,035.39 points.
The market’s weak performance was driven primarily by continued selloffs in ZENITHBANK (-2.52%), GTCO (-3.15%) and, WAPCO (-0.77%). Consequently, the ASI’s year-to-date (YTD) return fell to 5.43% and the market capitalization lost N84.38bn to close at N29.44trn.
Analysis of today’s market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 28.82%. A total of 296.74m units of shares valued at N3.07bn were exchanged in 4,590 deals. FIDELITYBK (-0.37%) led the volume chart with 46.59m units traded, while ZENITHBANK (-2.52%) led the value chart in deals worth N373.78m.
Market breadth closed negative at a 1.73-to-1 ratio with declining issues outnumbering advancing ones. ETERNA (-8.94%) topped eighteen (18) others on the laggard’s log, while NAHCO (+9.55%) led ten (10) others on the leader’s table.
Dividend 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 |
| ZENITHBANK | N3.20 (final) | 17-Apr-23 | 2-May-23 |
| WAPCO | N2.00 (final) | 11-Apr-23 | 28-Apr-23 |
| UBA | N0.90 (final) | 17-Apr-23 | 27-Apr-23 |
Meanwhile, the naira closed flat at NGN463.30/USD at the I&E window.
The overnight lending rate expanded by 88bps to 18.8%, in the absence of any significant outflow from the system.
The Treasury bills secondary market continued to trade cautiously, as the average yield pared by 1bp to 7.7%.
Across the curve, the average yield closed flat at the short and mid segments but contracted at the long (-1bp) end following interests on the 338DTM (-7bps) bill. Elsewhere, the average yield was flat at 4.0% in the OMO segment.
Bearish sentiments persisted in the Treasury bond secondary market, as the average yield expanded by 2bps to 13.4%.
Across the benchmark curve, the average yield contracted at the short (-2bps) end as investors demanded the MAR-2024 (-8bps) bond, but expanded at the mid (+14bps) segment due to sell pressures on the APR-2029 (+26bps) bond. Meanwhile, the average yield closed flat at the long end.
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