ASI dips 0.41% amidst profit-taking

The Nigerian equities market closed in negative territory as sustained profit-taking dragged the benchmark index lower. The All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 0.41% to settle at 193,567.81 points, while market capitalisation eased to N124.2 trillion. Losses in heavyweight counters including Lafarge Africa Plc (WAPCO) (-8.21%), Zenith Bank Plc (-2.20%), and United Bank for Africa Plc […]

The Nigerian equities market closed in negative territory as sustained profit-taking dragged the benchmark index lower.

The All-Share Index (ASI) declined by 0.41% to settle at 193,567.81 points, while market capitalisation eased to N124.2 trillion.

Losses in heavyweight counters including Lafarge Africa Plc (WAPCO) (-8.21%), Zenith Bank Plc (-2.20%), and United Bank for Africa Plc (-3.27%) outweighed notable gains in FirstHoldCo Plc (+4.85%) and Unilever Nigeria Plc (+5.44%).

Market breadth remained negative at 0.76x, with 38 decliners surpassing 29 gainers. FTN Cocoa Processors Plc led the gainers’ chart with a 10.00% advance, while Jaiz Bank Plc topped the laggards after shedding 9.98%.

Trading activity softened considerably. Total volume traded fell by 36.87% to 868.54 million units, while the value of trades declined by 31.85% to N31.5 billion.

Jaiz Bank recorded the highest traded volume, accounting for 78.9 million units (9.1% of total volume). Meanwhile, Zenith Bank led the value chart with transactions worth N4.1 billion, representing 12.9% of total turnover.

 

Sectoral performance

Performance across sectors was broadly bearish, with four of the five major indices closing lower.

The Industrial Goods Index declined by 1.19%, pressured primarily by losses in Lafarge Africa. The Banking Index fell 0.63% amid sell-offs in Zenith Bank.

The Insurance Index shed 0.32%, dragged by profit-taking in Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc (-5.19%).

The Consumer Goods Index slipped 0.03%, weighed down by declines in Dangote Sugar Refinery Plc (-3.51%).

Conversely, the Oil & Gas Index edged higher by 0.12%, buoyed by gains in Oando Plc (+1.75%), while the Commodities Index closed flat.

 

Fixed Income Market

The secondary bond market exhibited a mild bullish bias, particularly in the mid-segment of the yield curve where yields declined by 11 basis points. This demand offset minor sell pressures at the short end (+1bp), resulting in a 2bps drop in average yields to 15.6%.

Similarly, activity in the Treasury bills market reflected selective demand. Strong interest in the 17-Sept NTB (-60bps) was counterbalanced by sell-offs in the 04-Feb (+32bps) and 18-Feb (+45bps) maturities, leaving the average yield unchanged at close.

Money market rates were largely stable. The Open Repo Rate (OPR) remained unchanged at 22.0%, while the Overnight (O/N) rate inched up 10bps to 22.3%.

In the foreign exchange market, the Naira depreciated by 0.2% at the CBN official window to close at N1,361.50/$, but appreciated by 1.5% in the parallel market to N1,375.00/$.