Economy
ETDs Will Deepen Africa’s Position in Global Financial Market—NGX
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, Mr Temi Popoola, has expressed optimism that the launch of the Exchange Traded Derivatives (ETDs) in the Nigerian capital market will deepen Africa’s position in the global financial market.
He said this at the launch of NG Clearing Limited as Central Counterparty (CCP) clearing house in Nigeria on Thursday, December 9, 2021.
Derivatives are financial instruments most popularly used to reduce or hedge risks and are also believed to cover downside risks when large exposure exists in a portfolio long on stocks.
Among the different commonly used financial instruments, index derivatives have raised a great deal of attention in researchers around the world.
Index derivatives exist for all asset classes, and over time their use has grown exponentially for a variety of purposes. The ability to leverage by investing a small amount to gain exposure to a much larger investment is the key benefit of index derivatives.
While index futures have a symmetric impact on portfolio returns, index options can have an asymmetric impact. That said, both are valuable, cost-efficient tools for a number of reasons for a portfolio manager.
For example, if an investor has shorted a large number of single securities, a single index call option can provide a great hedge against an inverse-market move.
However, if an investor has large cash holdings that he or she wants to use for buying stocks after further research, a quick and easy way to deploy the funds is to go long on an index futures contract.
This provides the exposure the investor is ultimately looking to gain, buys time to do the research, costs far less and manages the price impact of large trading in a short time frame. Small purchases over time reduce the effect on prices and will not create a market impact.
Similarly, when a large number of securities need to be sold off, buying index futures gives time to ease in the selling over time and dampens price pressure. As cash positions are built over time, the index future maintains the overall security exposure until further investment decisions are made.
This approach makes sense for both active and passive investors, where large trades can be counterbalanced with the use of index futures or options bought at a low cost by an investor to avoid having large price-impacting shifts in an exposure.
At the launch of NG Clearing last week, Mr Popoola said, “As a multi-asset exchange, NGX recognises the importance of a well-developed derivatives market, and we have worked hard to put the right regulatory and technology framework in place to support the launch of a standardised ETDs market.
“Our efforts will be further supported by NG Clearing, the best in class CCP and Clearing House. These are indeed exciting times for the Nigerian capital market and I am excited about the prospect of deepening Africa’s position in the global financial market with the imminent launch of ETDs.”
Reports from NGX have shown that upon the introduction of ETDs in the market, index futures will be rolled out in the first year, while other products will follow as the market evolves in line with market readiness and demand.
It would be recalled that NGX recently received approval for seven derivatives contracts from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) including the Access Bank Plc Stock Futures, Dangote Cement Plc Stock Futures, Guaranty Trust Bank Plc Stock Futures, MTN Nigeria Communications Plc Stock Futures, Zenith Bank Plc Stock Futures, NGX 30 Index Futures and NGX Pension Index Futures.
Ultimately, the derivatives market is expected to complement existing cash markets and provide investors and other market players with the necessary tools for tactical asset allocation, risk management and cost management for effective portfolio management. It will, therefore, be interesting to see how the market responds once ETDs are introduced in the near term.
Economy
NASD Exchange Extends Bearish Run After 0.56% Drop
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.
This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.
It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.
MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.
GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,380/$1 at Official Market, Remains N1,405/$1 at Black Market
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.
Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.
Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.
This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.
The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.
Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
Economy
Bulls, Bears Share Customs Street’s Spoils Amid Bullish Investor Sentiment
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.
Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.
Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.
The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.
Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.
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