Nigerian Bourse Lost N28bn as Investors Weigh Options
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) lost more than N28 billion on Thursday as institutional investors begin to weigh options between equities and fixed income market investing due to changing dynamics.
The local bourse has been on a decline ahead of the second quarter of the financial year 2022 earnings release. Meanwhile, there is an ongoing yield repricing in the fixed income market following the monetary policy interest rate hike in May.
Industry analysts told MarketForces Africa that institutional investors are more likely to move funds into the fixed interest securities as the Central Bank of Nigeria’s spot rate on 364-day bills rose to 7% at the primary market auction conducted midweek.
Consequently to the bearish outing, the Nigerian bourse lost more than N28 billion on Thursday to close at N27.69 trillion, resulting in a moderation of stock market year-to-date return to 20.2%.
Stockbrokers told MarketForces that selloffs in ZENITH BANK (-1.7%) and INTBREW (-5.2%) among others dragged the benchmark index lower. READ: Zenith Bank: How Cash-Rich Lender Defied Gloomy Estimates Trading data also shows that the NGX All-Share Index dipped by 0.1% to 51,339.01 points as the market recorded 15 gainers and 10 losers.
Market activities were bearish, as the total volume and value dipped by 41.95 per cent and 44.72 per cent, respectively. Citing market data, stockbrokers at Atlass Portfolios Limited said in its market report that about 115.41 million units valued at ₦1.21 billion were transacted in 3,731 deals.
TRANSCORP emerged as the most traded stock in terms of volume, accounting for 10.56 per cent of the total volume of trades, followed closely by INTBREW (6.63%), FBNH (6.42%), ZENITH BANK (5.71%), and STERLNBANK (5.59%) to complete the top five on the volume chart.
ZENITH BANK emerged as the most traded stock in value terms, with 12.30percent of the total value of trades on the exchange. On the profitability chart, ACADEMY topped the advancers’ list with a price appreciation of 8.70 per cent, according to stockbrokers’ notes.
The company’s stock was trailed closely by CUTIX (7.27%), BUAFOODS (4.74%), TRANSCORP (2.44%), FBNH (1.87%), GTCO (1.47%), WEMABANK (0.29%) and eight (8) others.
The CHAMPION share price dipped 8.74 per cent, to close at ₦3.55. INTBREW lost 5.17%, ZENITH BANK fell by 1.56%, ACCESSCORP declined by 1.56%, and WAPCO pullback by 0.38%.
Sectoral performance was bearish as three of the five sectors closed negatively compared to the previous session. The Consumer Goods (-0.9%) and Banking (-0.7%) indices declined, while the Insurance (+0.6%) index was the sole gainer of the day. The Industrial Goods and Oil & Gas indices closed flat. # Nigerian Bourse Lost N28bn as Investors Weigh Options
