Nigerian Equities Gained 3.40% as Investors Traded 9.8 Billion Shares in One Week

The Nigerian Equities Market last week added 340bps as activity level skyrocketed by 191.81% WoW. The NGX All-share Index & Market Capitalization appreciated by 3.40% to close at 63,040.41 points and N34.33 trillion from 60,968.27 points and N33.20 trillion respectively. Year-to-Date returns stood at 23.00% and 22.97%.

Market breadth strengthened in the just concluded week by 139.06% to close at 3.12x from 1.31x.
Seventy-eight (78) equities appreciated in price during the week higher than seventy-seven (77) equities in the previous week. Twenty-five (25) equities depreciated in price lower than fifty-nine (59) in the previous week, while Fifty-three (53) equities remained unchanged, higher than twenty (20) recorded in the previous week.
The activity level strengthened as the total traded shares volume and value increased by 191.81% and 246.32% respectively. A total turnover of 9.831 billion shares worth N145.408 billion in 54,478 deals was traded this week by investors on the floor of the Exchange, in contrast to a total of 3.369 billion shares valued at N41.986 billion that exchanged hands last week in 39,764 deals.
Trading in the top three equities namely FBNH Holding Plc, FCMB Group Plc, and United Bank for Africa (measured by volume) accounted for 6.071 billion shares worth N102.488 billion in 7,505 deals, contributing 61.75% and 70.48% to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.

Outlook for the week
We expect the equities market to continue to rally as investors continue to leverage on the ‘investment-friendly’ stance of the Fed Gov, and increased liquidity in the economy on the back of FX liberalization.

Nigerian Fixed Income Market
The bond yield curve exhibited mixed outing last week, 1-year bond, 3-year bond, and 5-year bond advanced by 2.32%, 0.38%, and 0.91%, to close at 10.11%, 10.59%, and 12.00% respectively. While the yield on 10-year and 30-year compressed by -3.99 and -0.14%, to close at 10.07% and 14.55% respectively.
The secondary market for Nigerian Treasury Bills exhibited a similar fate. While the yield on the 91-day, and 182-day were steady at 6.09% and 5.78% respectively, the 364-day papers declined by 121bp to close at 5.98%.

In the Money Market space, the Open Repo (OPR) went down by -0.43 to close at 0.93% from 1.32% Wow, while Overnight rates decrease by -0.85 to close at 1.29% from 2.14% Wow.

Outlook for the week
We expect the yield on fixed income to compress, especially on long-dated bonds due to rising interest rates.

Global and African Market
The global market exhibited a bearish outing this week as five of the six indices under coverage closed in the red. The S&P Index garnered 3.40% WoW. African Market experienced mixed sentiment as three of the four indices under coverage appreciated. The NGX ASI, EGX 30, and KENYA NSE appreciated by 3.40% and 3.95%, and 4.08% respectively. While S’A JALSH depreciated by -2.71% WoW.

Outlook for the week
Market activities would likely trade mixed this week, as investors’ confidence restores gradually.