EQUITIES
The domestic bourse extended yesterday’s gain, with the ASI appreciating by 1.03% to 42,604.40 points, following sustained demand across most sectors.
The Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns improved to -3.92% and 11.40% respectively.
The Banking (+1.31%) index sustained its bullish momentum, driven by interest in FBNH (+8.23%) shares. Also, the Industrial Goods (+0.89%), Consumer Goods (+0.83%), and Oil &Gas (+0.01%) indices closed in the green, as investors demanded for the shares of BERGER (+4.55%), DANGSUGAR (+4.76%), and SEPLAT (+0.01%) respectively. However, the Insurance index closed flat.
Market breadth remained positive, with 28 gainers and 24 losers, led by the shares of FBNH (+8.23%) and CAVERTON (-8.77%) respectively. Total volume traded increased by 18.13% to 615.17 million units, valued at NGN6.28 billion, and exchanged in 5,904 deals.
It is likely that gains extend, on the back of (1) relatively attractive stock prices, (2) encouraging macroeconomic conditions, and (3) investors taking position ahead of q4-17 earnings.
CURRENCY
The USD/NGN remained flat at NGN363 in the parallel market, while it appreciated by 0.07% to NGN360.13 in the I&E FX window. Total volume traded in the I&E FX window increased by 11.62% to USD169.16 million, exchanged within the range of NGN355 to NGN361.50.
FIXED INCOME AND MONEY MARKET
The overnight lending rate contracted further by 208 bps to 6.92%, as liquidity position improved following inflow of matured OMO bills worth NGN89.08 billion.
Activities turned bearish in the NTB market, as average yield expanded by 3 bps to 14.49%. Yields closed higher at the mid (+5 bps) and long (+7 bps) ends of the curve, while it declined at the short (-3 bps) segment, following selloffs of the 182DTM (+39 bps) and 203DTM (+25 bps) bills, and demand for the 63DTM (-62 bps) bill respectively. Meanwhile, at yesterday’s NTB auction, NGN6 billion, NGN30 billion, and NGN140 billion of the 91-day, 182-day, and 364-day bills were allotted. The bills were 1.3x oversubscribed, with stop rate on the 91-day bill closing lower at 11.95% (previously 12.00%), while it was unchanged for the 182-day and 364-day bills at 13.65% and 13.70% respectively.
Conversely, investors were upbeat in the bond market, as average yield fell by 4 bps to 13.74%. Yields contracted across all ends of the curve – short (-1 bps), mid (-2 bps), and long (-5 bps) – owing to interests in the JUN-2019 (-1 bp), JUL-2021 (-3 bps), and MAR-2036 (-21 bps) bonds respectively.
