Trading activities at Nigerian Stock Exchange on Wednesday, February 21, 2018
EQUITIES
The equities market remained positive, as the ASI inched higher by 0.02% to 42,158.32 points, following interests in banking stocks.
The Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns improved to -4.93% and 10.24% respectively.
The Banking (+1.06%) index remained in the green, recording the highest gain, following renewed interests in FBNH (+2.76%) and GUARANTY (+1.59%) stocks. The Insurance (+0.70%) index also closed positive, driven by demand for CONTINSURE (+4.64%) shares. On the flip side, the Oil & Gas (-1.20%), Consumer Goods (-0.92%), and Industrial Goods (-0.89%) indices closed negative, as investors took profit in the shares of CONOIL (-9.58%), PZ (-4.76%), and CCNN (-4.32%) respectively.
Market breadth remained negative, with 30 losers and 21 gainers, led by CONOIL (-9.58%) and JAPAULOIL (+5.71%). Specifically, the gains recorded by JAPAULOIL is attributable to the announced USD350 million financing facility to the company by Milost Global Incorporated – a New York-based private equity firm. Total volume of trades increased by 11.75% to 570.26 million, valued at NGN5.33 billion, and exchanged in 5,794 deals.
As earnings season draws closer, we look to extension of gains in the equities market, amidst still-positive macroeconomic fundamentals.
CURRENCY
The USD/NGN rate was flat at NGN362 in the parallel market, while it depreciated by 0.04% to NGN360.40 in the I&E FX window. Total trades in the I&E FX window improved by 35.52% to USD223.38 million, consummated within the range of NGN346.00 and NGN361.50.
FIXED INCOME AND MONEY MARKET
The overnight lending rate dropped by 667 bps to 13.25%, following a reported 119.89% improvement in liquidity position to NGN156.41 billion, from NGN71.13 billion.
Proceedings remained broadly bullish in the NTB market, as the absence of OMO auctions (with sales last recorded on Thursday) continued to support demand in the secondary market. Average yield contracted by 11 bps to 14.31%, with yields closing lower across all ends of the curve – short (-24 bps), mid (-5 bps), and long (-8 bps) – owing to interests in the 43DTM (+60 bps), 169DTM (-34 bps), and 358DTM (-47 bps) bills respectively.
Conversely, investors were downbeat in the bond market, with average yield expanding by 7 bps to 13.70%. Yields rose at the mid and long ends of the curve by 8 bps apiece, while it contracted marginally at the short segment by less than 1 bp. The notable bonds include the JUL-2021 (+16 bps), MAR-2036 (+15 bps), and JUN-2019 (less than 1 bp contraction) respectively. The result of today’s bond auction was unavailable at the time of writing.
