NGX slips further south from price declines in DangCem, GTBank, UACN

• Market capitalisation dropped further by N98.6bn to N19.83trn

Charles Abuede

The Nigerian Exchange Group (NGX) once again has its market capitalisation dropped further by N98.6 billion to N19.83 trillion from n19.92 trillion the previous day as the local bourse slipped further into the red with trading activity on the exchange closing negatively on Thursday. Also, the market All-Share Index fell further by 0.49 per cent to close at 38,044.58 points following price decline in Dangote Cement (-2.9%), GTBank (-1.2%), and UAC Nigeria (-2.2%). Consequently, the year to date loss worsened to -5.5 per cent.

Trading activity was mixed as the volume traded rose by 5.5 per cent to 214.2 million units while the value traded fell by 26.4 per cent to N1.3 billion. The most traded stocks by volume were Sovereign Trust Insurance (27.2m units), Mutual Benefits Assurance (17.2m units), and UAC Nigeria (15.7m units) while GTBank (N226.3m), UAC Nigeria (N174.3m), and Zenith Bank (N134.2m) led by value.

Across the sectoral fronts on Thursday, market performance was bearish as 4 indices lost, 1 gained and 1 closed flat. The oil & gas and industrial goods indices lost 1.1 per cent apiece, following price decline in MRS (-5.0%) and Dangote Cement (-2.9%). The banking and insurance indices lost 0.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively, due to sell-offs in GTBank (-1.2%), Ecobank (-0.1%), and Wapic Plc (-5.7%). Conversely, the consumer goods index gained 0.1 per cent and was largely driven by price uptick in Consolidated Hallmark Insurance Plc (+6.4%) and Flour Mills of Nigeria (+0.2%). However, the ICT index closed flat.

Meanwhile, investor sentiment weakened to 0.8x from 1.4x in the last trading session as 16 stocks advanced while 21 declined. Mutual Benefits Assurance (+7.3%), Regency Alliance Insurance (+7.1%) and Cutix Plc (+7.1%) led gainers while Sovereign Trust Insurance (-10.0), ABC Transport (-8.1%) and Academy (-7.7%) led decliners.

NSE 30

At the NSE 30, the Index decreased by 0.42 per cent to close at 1,544.86 points from 1,551.40 points as on the previous day. Similarly, the market turnover closed with a traded volume of 69.54 million units. Lafarge Africa and First Bank Holding were the key gainers, while Dangote Cement and GTBank were the key losers.

FX Market

In the foreign exchange market, the Naira appreciated by 0.12 per cent as the dollar was quoted at N411 to the greenback as against the last close of N411.50 per dollar at the Investors and Exporters’ window as most market participants maintained bids between N387.67 and N429.37 per dollar.

T-bills Market

The treasury bills market saw the NT-Bills secondary market closed on a negative note with average yield across the curve increasing by 23  basis points to close at 6.10 per cent from 5.87 per cent on the previous day. Average yield across short-term, medium-term, and long-term maturities widened by 72  basis points, 2  basis points, and 10  basis points, respectively. Yields on 8 bills advanced with the 10-Jun-21 maturity bill recording the highest yield increase of 101  basis points, while yields on 10 bills remained unchanged.

In the OMO bills market, the average yield across the curve decreased by 2  basis points to close at 9.72 per cent as against the last close of 9.74 per cent. Buying interest was seen across short-term maturities with average yield compressing by 41 basis points while selling pressure was seen on medium-term maturities with the average yield rising by 15 basis points. However, the average yield on long-term maturities closed flat at 10.14 per cent. Yields on 10 bills declined with the 8-Jun-21 maturity bill recording the highest yield decrease of 108 basis points, while yields on 11 bills remained unchanged.

Moreover, the CBN held its scheduled Primary Market Auction on May 26, selling NT-Bills worth N151.13 billion across the 91-day (N3.12 billion), 182-day (N4.12 billion), and 364-day (N143.89 billion) tenors. The stop rates for the 91-day and 182-day tenors remained unchanged at 2.50 per cent and 3.50 per cent, respectively. However, the stop rate for the 364-day tenor cleared lower at 9.65 per cent (-10  basis points). The auction was oversubscribed by 369 per cent, with bid-to-cover ratios settling at 0.18x (91-day), 0.29x (182-day), and 14.44x (364-day).

Bonds Market

Elsewhere, the FGN bonds secondary market closed on a negative note as the average bond yield across the curve cleared higher by 18 basis points to close at 10.02 per cent from 9.84 per cent on the previous day. Average yield across the short tenor of the curve expanded by 24 basis points, while the average yield across the long tenor declined by 2 basis points. However, the average yield across the medium tenor of the curve remained unchanged. The 26-APR-2049 maturity bond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 16 basis points, while the FGN13-JUN-2021 Sovereign bond was the worst performer with an increase in yield of 100 basis points.