Economy
Stock Market Rallies by 0.58% Amid Slow GDP Growth, CBN Rate Hike
By Dipo Olowookere
It was another day in the bulls’ territory for the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited as it finished 0.58 per cent on Wednesday despite the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) revealing that the gross domestic product (GDP) slowed by 2.31 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.
Also today, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced that the monetary policy rate (MPR) had been raised by 50 basis points (0.50 per cent) to 18.5 per cent.
The Governor of the CBN, Mr Godwin Emefiele, said the rate hike was approved at the monetary policy committee (MPC) held in Abuja.
These developments did not put the stock market under pressure as bargain-hunting dominated and lifted the bourse when trading activities closed for the day.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 306.41 points to 52,927.60 points from 52,621.19 points, and the market capitalisation grew by N166 billion to N28.819 trillion from N28.653 trillion.
Business Post reports that more trades were recorded during the session when compared with the preceding session, leading to an increase in the trading volume, value and the number of deals by 29.69 per cent, 50.00 per cent, and 11.59 per cent apiece.
This was because traders exchanged 455.2 million shares worth N7.8 billion in 6,635 deals in the midweek session compared with the 351.0 million shares worth N5.2 billion traded in 5,946 deals on Tuesday.
The mopping up of banking equities continued during the session, especially in some shares with good fundamentals as investors prepare for the end of the half-year.
Access Holdings traded 69.2 million stocks valued at N755.7 million, UBA sold 66.5 million shares worth N577.8 million, Zenith Bank exchanged 37.6 million equities valued at N1.0 billion, Fidelity Bank transacted 32.5 million shares for N182.8 million, and GTCO traded 31.0 million equities worth N848.3 million.
The market breadth was positive on Wednesday, as the bourse finished with 36 price gainers and 17 price losers, implying a strong investor sentiment buoyed by sustained buying pressure.
Nestle Nigeria gained 9.98 per cent to trade at N1,148.00, Tripple Gee jumped by 9.88 per cent to N3.56, UAC Nigeria increased by 9.76 per cent to N9.00, University Press appreciated by 9.76 per cent to N2.25, and RT Briscoe rose by 9.68 per cent to 34 Kobo.
A look at the other side of the coin showed that Chellarams declined by 9.82 per cent to N1.47, McNichols shed 9.59 per cent to 66 Kobo, Coronation Insurance depleted by 8.70 per cent to 42 Kobo, Academy Press fell by 7.14 per cent to N1.56, and Cutix crashed by 3.23 per cent to N2.40.
As for the sectorial performance, the only laggard was the insurance sector, which decreased by 0.10 per cent, as the energy, consumer goods, banking, and industrial goods sectors grew by 2.54 per cent, 2.07 per cent, 1.06 per cent, and 0.23 per cent, respectively.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Four price decliners overpowered the two price gainers recorded at the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange on Monday, August 10, weakening it by 0.32 per cent at the close of transactions.
The advancers were led by Food Concepts Plc, which chalked up 25 Kobo to sell at N2.75 per unit versus the previous price of N2.50 per unit, and Mass Telecoms Innovation Plc appreciated by 3 Kobo to 35 Kobo per share from 32 Kobo per share.
However, 11 Plc lost N24.75 to close at N222.75 per unit versus N247.50 per unit, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc declined by N3.09 to N145.00 per share from N148.09 per share, Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc went down by 5 Kobo to 50 Kobo per unit from 55 Kobo per unit, and Geo-Fluids Plc slid by 1 Kobo to N2.27 per share from N2.28 per share.
As a result, the market capitalisation contracted by N8.94 billion to N2.798 trillion from the previous session’s N2.807 trillion, and the NASD Security Index (NSI) retreated by 14.9 points to 4,663.18 points from 4,678.08 points.
The trading data showed that the volume of securities exchanged by investors rose by 108.9 per cent to 1.1 million units from 535,7560 units, and the value of securities jumped by 69.5 per cent to N10.2 million from N6.0 million, while the number of deals executed receded by 2.8 per cent to 35 deals from 36 deals.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc closed the trading session as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units exchanged for N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units valued at N6.5 billion, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc with 77.0 million units transacted for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also ended the day as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units traded for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week on a positive note, appreciating against the US Dollar by N5.55 or 0.41 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, August 10, to N1,360.14/$1 from N1,365.69/$1.
The domestic currency also improved its exchange rate against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by 67 Kobo to sell at N1,838.50/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,839.17/£1, and gained N4.64 against the Euro to quote at N1,571.09/€1, in contrast to last Friday’s N1,575.73/€1.
However, the Naira maintained stability against the Dollar in the black market and the GTBank forex counter on Monday at N1,400/$1 and N1,371/$1, respectively.
Data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) showed that interbank FX turnover fell by 46 per cent yesterday to $213.845 million from the $393.477 million recorded at the close of trading on Friday.
The decline came despite a sharp increase in the volume of foreign exchange transactions executed during the session, indicating weaker participation by high-ticket FX customers and other major market participants.
The lower turnover suggests reduced demand for FX among large-scale buyers, even as market makers continued to facilitate transactions through the NAFEM window, with the number of FX traded rising to 182 from 102.
In the cryptocurrency market, traders and investors took profit as broader markets’ focus shifted to rising bond yields, higher oil prices and upcoming US inflation data.
Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 5.2 per cent to $0.1873, Ethereum (ETH) slipped by 2.6 per cent to $1,873.43, Ripple (XRP) slumped by 2.3 per cent to $1.01, Bitcoin (BTC) fell by 1.8 per cent to $63,949.22, Solana (SOL) crashed by 1.3 per cent to $75.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) tumbled by 0.6 per cent to $599.49.
But TRON (TRX) gained 0.5 per cent to trade at $0.3314, and Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.2 per cent to $0.0700, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
The first trading session of the week on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in the green territory on Monday, with a 1.20 per cent rise.
This was buoyed by the gains recorded by Airtel Africa and other equities, according to analysis of data harvested from the Customs Street yesterday.
During the trading day, the consumer goods index grew by 0.76 per cent, enough to offset the losses recorded by the other sectors.
The insurance counter shrank by 1.64 per cent, the banking space lost 0.24 per cent, the energy sector contracted by 0.09 per cent, and the industrial goods segment retreated by 0.05 per cent.
When trading activities ended for the day, the All-Share Index (ASI) was up by 2,956.15 points to 248,529.75 points from 245,573.60 points, and the market capitalisation gained N1.909 trillion to finish at N160.422 trillion compared with the previous session’s N158.513 trillion.
Fortis Global Insurance expanded by 10.00 per cent to N2.86, Chams surged by 9.80 per cent to N4.48, NAHCO jumped by 9.29 per cent to N153.00, Airtel Africa soared by 8.59 per cent to N6,300.00, and Sovereign Trust Insurance rose by 6.59 per cent to N1.78.
Conversely, AVA Capital shed 10.00 per cent to N9.90, Ecobank decreased by 9.92 per cent to N64.95, Caverton crashed by 9.09 per cent to N5.00, Ikeja Hotel slipped by 8.41 per cent to N43.00, and FTN Cocoa dropped 8.37 per cent to trade at N8.10.
A total of 23 equities were on the gainers’ chart yesterday, while 37 equities ended on the losers’ table, indicating a negative market breadth index and weak investor sentiment.
As for the activity log, the trading volume remained elevated, though lower than the preceding session, as it receded by 26.67 per cent to 1.1 billion units from 1.5 billion units. The trading value, however, increased by 1.12 per cent to N27.0 billion from N26.7 billion, while the number of deals advanced by 39.00 per cent to 59,185 deals from 42,580 deals.
Consolidated Hallmark was the most active stock yesterday, with a turnover of 354.1 million units valued at N1.5 billion, Fortis Global Insurance traded 307.3 million units worth N818.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 48.1 million units for N1.4 billion, Chams transacted 37.4 million units worth N163.3 million, and First Holdco sold 35.8 million units valued at N5.1 billion.
