NSE Index down by 0.14% on Wednesday as sell pressure persists

Trading on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) turned bearish on Wednesday as the market All-Share Index (ASI) dropped by 0.14 per cent to 32,108.30 points, amidst sell pressure in stocks across sectors.

As a result, the Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date losses increased to 1.10 per cent and 16.04 per cent respectively.

All sectoral indices – Industrial Goods (-2.34%), Insurance (-2.05%), Oil & Gas (-0.16%), and Consumer Goods (-0.09%) — closed negative, save for the Banking index which inched up 0.19%. The notable stocks include WAPCO (-9.77%), AIICO (-9.86%), SEPLAT (-0.31%), DANGSUGAR (-3.35%), and UBA (+2.56%), respectively.

Market breadth was flat with 17 gainers and losers apiece, led by NIGERINS (+10.00%) and AIICO (-9.86%) stocks respectively.

A significant cross in ZENITHBANK (252 million units at NGN23.85) shares led to a 236.45% spike in total turnover to NGN9.39 billion, and a surge in total volume of trades by 200.79% to 450.14 million units. Total deals stood at 2,858.

“We reiterate our negative outlook for the equities market in the short to medium term, amidst political concerns ahead of the 2019 elections, and the absence of a positive market trigger. However, positive macroeconomic fundamentals remain supportive of recovery in the long term”. Analysts at Cordros Capital said.

Also, the USD/NGN remained flat in the parallel market at NGN362, while it weakened by 0.01% to NGN363.58 in the I&E FX window. Total turnover in the IEW was 1.36x higher in yesterday’s session, at USD228.80 million, compared to the previous session.

The overnight lending rate declined by 83 bps, closing at 4.58 per cent amidst still buoyant liquidity in the fixed income market.

Proceedings in the NTB market were bearish, as average yield rose by 16 bps to 13.46%. Selloffs of the 22DTM (+75 bps) and 120DTM (+42 bps) bills led to respective yield expansions at the short (+25 bps) and mid (+17 bps) segments. Yield at the long end of the curve was flat.

In the bond market, sentiments were mixed, as average yield closed flat at 15.34%. Demand for the JUL-2021 (-19 bps) bond led to yield contraction at the short (-6 bps) segment.  Conversely, yield expanded at the long (+7 bps) end of the curve, following a selloff of the JUL-2034 (+11 bps) bond, while it closed flat at the mid segment.