At the start of the trading session, the local bourse experienced a downturn, with the All-Share Index declining by 1.36 percent to close at 95,781.68 points.
This drop in performance led to a corresponding decrease in the market capitalization of listed equities, which fell by 1.36 percent to N54.38 trillion, wiping out N749 billion from investors’ portfolios.
The bearish sentiment was widespread, with significant losses recorded across various sectors. The Industrial Goods sector saw the most significant decline, dropping by 4.96 percent, primarily driven by notable share price decreases in DANGCEM and BETAGLASS.
The Insurance and Consumer Goods sectors also experienced losses of 0.71 percent and 0.67 percent, respectively. However, the Banking and Oil/Gas sectors provided some relief, posting modest gains of 0.17 percent and 0.11 percent, respectively.
Despite the overall negative market trend, trading activity levels painted a more optimistic picture. Market breadth was positive, with 31 gainers outpacing 18 losers. Total deals, volume, and value all showed considerable increases, rising by 21.02 percent, 916.19 percent, and 2.47 percent to reach 9,291 deals, 3.55 billion units, and N7.65 billion, respectively.
In terms of individual stock performance, CUTIX, RTBRISCOE, SKYAVN, OANDO, and FTNCOCOA were among the top gainers, each recording substantial share price increases of +10.00percent, +10.00 percent, +10.00 percent, +9.90 percent, and +9.57 percent, respectively.
On the flip side, DANGCEM, NSLTECH, AFRIPRUD, BETAGLAS, and CAVERTON led the decliners, with share price losses of -10.00 percent, -9.76 percent, -9.68 percent, -9.43 percent, and -6.38 percent, respectively. GTCO emerged as the most actively traded stock, both in terms of volume and value, with 59.25 million units worth N2.73 billion exchanged in 338 deals.
In the money market, NIBOR rates eased across all maturities, with the Overnight NIBOR notably dropping by 445 basis points to close at 28.25 percent, driven by a significant increase in system liquidity. Additionally, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) and Overnight Rate (O/N) decreased by 360bps each, settling at 28.70 percent and 29.38 percent, respectively.
The Nigerian Interbank Treasury Bills True Yield (NITTY) experienced a downward trend across maturities, driven by sell pressures from investors. Meanwhile, the secondary market for Nigerian Treasury Bills exhibited a bullish trend, with the average yield decreasing by 3.76 percent to 19.64 percent.
Trading in the FGN bond market showed slight positive movement, with the average secondary market yield falling by 0.01 percent to 19.69 percent. In the Nigerian sovereign Eurobonds market, bullish sentiment across segments of the yield curve led to a decrease in the average yield by 0.07 percent to 10.26 percent.
In the official NAFEM market, the naira appreciated by 0.04 percent, settling at ₦1,579.22 per US dollar. In the parallel market, the naira closed at an average of ₦1,585 per dollar.
