Zenith Bank, a leading lender in the Nigerian banking sector, emerged as the day’s leader in the equities market, dominating both volume and value with 57.42 million units worth N2.25 billion traded in 656 deals.
On the aggregate, the market capitalisation of listed equities experienced a significant upswing, increasing by N59 billion to N56.67 trillion.
The equities market witnessed a notable uptick, with the All-Share Index rising by 0.11 percent to reach 100,075.59 points, bolstering the year-to-date return to 33.84 percent.
Notably, share prices of stocks such as UCAP, CUTIX, SUNUASSUR, CORNERST, and UACN increased by +10.00 percent, +9.84 percent, +7.75 percent, +7.69 percent, and +7.42 percent, respectively.
This surge in performance led to a favorable landscape, with the Exchange boasting more gainers (19) than losers (15), showcasing investor confidence.
The day’s trading activity depicted enthusiasm, with the total traded volume and value rising by 1.65 percent and 0.78 percent to 368.39 million units and N7.42 billion, respectively, although the total number of deals fell by 3.02 percent to 8,151.
Despite the overall positive sentiment, there were pockets of decline in the Consumer Goods and Oil/Gas indices, which dipped by 0.07 percent and 0.26 percent, respectively.
Nonetheless, the Banking, Insurance, and Industrial Goods sectors recorded gains of 0.61 percent, 0.67 percent, and 0.07 percent, respectively, underscoring the market’s resilience.
In the money market, NIBOR rose across the board for all tenor buckets as banks with liquidity sought higher rates.
Notably, the Overnight NIBOR advanced 9bps to reach 32.47 percent, reflecting tightening liquidity in the system.
However, key money market rates such as the Open Repo Rate (OPR) and Overnight Lending Rate (OVN) nosedived to conclude at 31.40 percent and 32.13 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, NITTY closed in the mixed bag, even as the average yield on T-bills in the secondary market declined by 0.08 percent to 20.03 percent.
The secondary FGN Bonds market was in a flattish mode as the average yield stayed muted at 19.29 percent, despite yield expansion of 2bps and 13bps in the MAR-25 and JAN-26 instruments.
Also, there was a yield reduction of 7bps in the MAY-33 instrument.
In the sovereign Eurobonds market, negative sentiment was evident across various maturities, resulting in a 0.05 percent rise in the average yield to 9.79 percent.
In the official NAFEM market, the naira appreciated by 0.04 percent to close at N1, 576.66 per dollar.
In the parallel market, the naira closed at N1, 550 per dollar.
