At the start of the new trading week, the Nigerian equities market reversed Friday’s modest gains as the All-Share Index (ASI) slipped by 0.24% to close at 108,467.98 points. The downturn led to a ₦166 billion loss in market capitalisation, bringing the total value down to ₦68.17 trillion.
The session saw a cautious tone among investors amid mixed sectoral performances. Banking stocks dipped 0.24%, while Consumer Goods fell 0.54%. On the positive side, Insurance gained 0.29%, Oil & Gas rose 0.36%, and Industrial Goods advanced 0.12%. The NGX Commodity index remained flat.
Investor activity remained relatively weak, with 409.93 million shares worth ₦10.6 billion exchanged in 16,441 deals, representing a 10.73% decline in volume and a 5.09% drop in turnover.
Money Market Tightens as NIBOR Climbs
Liquidity conditions in the Nigerian money market tightened significantly, with the Nigerian Interbank Offered Rate (NIBOR) climbing across all tenors. The Open Repo Rate increased by 0.40% to 26.90%, and the Overnight Lending Rate rose by 0.40% to 27.40%, reflecting funding pressures in the banking system.
Similarly, the Nigerian Treasury Bills market saw a modest decline in yields by 0.02% to 20.95%.
FGN Bonds See Yield Decline Amid Investor Interest
Investor sentiment remained positive in the secondary bond market, where yields on FGN bonds dropped by 19.06%, driven by heightened demand. This bullish momentum spilled into Nigeria’s Eurobond market, where yields fell by an average of 0.41% to 9.98%.
Naira Gains in Official and Parallel Markets
In the foreign exchange segment, the Naira appreciated by 0.36% in the official window, closing at ₦1,600.44 per US dollar. It also firmed in the parallel market, ending the day at ₦1,614 per dollar.
Key Transactions
The day’s trading was dominated by MTNN, which accounted for 41% of the total value traded, followed by Zenith Bank (11%), VFD Group (8%), and AccessCorp (6%).
