The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) extended its positive run on Thursday, driven by strong performances in key stocks such as MTN Nigeria Communications Plc (MTNN), Zenith Bank, and United Bank for Africa (UBA). The benchmark NGX All-Share Index (ASI) rose by 2.0% to close at 124,446.80 points, marking another milestone in the market’s recent upward trend.
The latest performance lifted the market’s Month-to-Date and Year-to-Date returns to +3.7% and +20.9%, respectively, as investor confidence remained upbeat across several sectors.
Trading Activity Surges
Market turnover improved significantly as the total volume of transactions increased by 44.1% to 1.28 billion units, valued at ₦27.73 billion, and executed in 27,875 deals.
According to the analyst at Cordros Research limited, ACCESSCORP emerged as the day’s most traded stock, leading both in volume and value with 174.22 million units traded, worth ₦3.99 billion.
Sectoral Performance Broadly Positive
Gains were widespread across major sectors. The Insurance index led the day with a +4.0% advance, followed closely by the Banking index (+3.9%), Consumer Goods (+1.2%), and Industrial Goods (+0.3%). The Oil & Gas sector, however, closed flat.
Market sentiment remained strongly positive, as measured by market breadth. A total of 67 stocks posted gains against 10 losers, translating to a healthy market breadth ratio of 6.7x.
HMCALL and UBA topped the gainers’ chart, each recording the maximum daily increase of 10.0%, while NEIMETH and LEGENDINT posted the steepest losses of the session, both shedding -9.9%.
Currency and Fixed Income Markets
In the foreign exchange market, the naira remained stable, with the official rate unchanged at ₦1,531.00 per US dollar.
Meanwhile, activity in the money market saw the overnight lending rate ease by 34 basis points to 30.1%, reflecting the absence of significant liquidity pressures in the system.
The secondary market for Nigerian Treasury Bills (NTBs) maintained a bullish tone, as the average yield declined by 27 basis points to 19.1%. Demand was strong across the curve, particularly for the 91-day (-145bps), 147-day (-154bps), and 245-day (-292bps) bills. Similarly, yields in the Open Market Operation (OMO) segment dropped by 66 basis points to 24.4%.
The bullish sentiment also extended to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) bond market. The average yield fell by 23 basis points to 16.7%, driven by investor interest in benchmark bonds such as the APR-2039 (-51bps), JULY-2034 (-78bps), and JUN-2053 (-20bps).
Outlook
The local bourse’s continued rally highlights renewed investor interest in Nigeria’s equities, particularly in blue-chip stocks and the banking sector. As the second half of the year progresses, market participants will be closely monitoring economic indicators and policy directions to gauge whether this momentum can be sustained in the face of global and domestic economic uncertainties.
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