By Charles Abuede  

• Naira gains N3 at start of Christmas week
• T-bills close negative, FGN bonds positive

  The Nigerian equities market continued its positive run with an advance of 174 basis points as the week opened Monday on the back of a similar positive close last week. It represented 1.74 percent growth as the index settled at 37,443.40 points driven by buying upticks in Dangote Cement (+10.0%), Wapco (+2.3%) and Oando (+9.9%). As a result of the gain market capitalisation rose to N19.6 trillion from N19.24 trillion it opened with following a gain of N333.8 billion gain by investors; and year-to-date return grew by 39.5 percent. Also, market activity level was mixed as volume traded increased 0.2 per cent to 427.1 million units while value traded decreased by 24.1 per cent to N3.3 billion. The most liquid stocks by volume were AXA Mansard (90.2 million units), Transnational Corporation (36.6 million units) and AIICO Insurance (22.9 million units) while Dangote Cement (N1.3 billion), Guaranty Trust Bank – GTB – (N372.3 million) and Zenith Bank (N298.1 million) led the value chart.   Bullish sector performance The day’s trading was mixed in terms of sectoral performance with three sector indicators closed in the green, two lost, while the AFR-ICT index was flat. The banking index posted the worst performance as it shed 1.1 per cent due to profit-taking in Zenith Bank (-2.0%), GTBank (-0.7%) and Access Bank (-1.2%). Likewise, the consumer goods index dipped 14 basis points, mirroring sell-offs in International Breweries (-2.7%) and Unilever Plc (-2.8%). Conversely, the industrial goods and insurance indices were up 5.5 per cent and 5.1 per cent respectively on the back of price appreciation in Dangote Cement (+9.1%), Wapco Plc (+2.3%) and AXA Mansard (+9.8%). Lastly, the oil & gas indicator climbed 0.7 per cent higher on the back of buying interest in Oando (+9.9%).   Investor sentiment shrinks Meanwhile, the sentiment of investors in the market as measured by market breadth (advance/decline ratio) decreased to 1.0x from the 4.4x recorded in the previous session as 22 stocks gained against the 23 that declined. Boc Gas (+10.0%), Dangote Cement (+10.0%) and Oando (+9.9%) were the best performing stocks while Eterna Plc (-9.9%), TRANSEXPR (-9.2%) and Champions Breweries (-8.7%) led the losers.   The NSE 30 The NSE 30 Index increased by 2.12 per cent to close at 1,528.89 points as against 1,497.16 points last Friday. Market turnover closed with a traded volume of 122.62 million units. Dangote Cement and Flour Mills were the key gainers, while Unilever and International Breweries were the key losers.   Foreign exchange market The naira appreciated by N3 at the start of Christmas week to close at N474 naira against the dollar on the unofficial ‘street market’ from N477 last Friday. Also, at the Investors’ & Exporters’ foreign exchange market, naira stayed stable at N394 per dollar, while at the official CBN window, it traded at N379 in exchange for the greenback. Most participants maintained bids of between N387.10 and N407.25 per dollar. Treasury Bills NT-Bills secondary market closed on a negative note with average yield across the curve increasing by one basis point to close at 0.41 per cent from 0.40 per cent on the previous day. The average yield across short-term maturities widened by three basis points, while average yields across medium-term and long-term maturities remained unchanged at 0.37 per cent and 0.24 per cent, respectively. Mild selling pressure was seen across short-term maturities with the average yield rising by one basis point in the OMO bills market as the average yield across the curve remained unchanged at 0.47 per cent. However, average yields across medium-term and long-term maturities closed flat at 0.52 per cent and 0.65 per cent, respectively.   Bonds Market The FGN bonds secondary market closed on a positive note as the average bond yield across the curve cleared lower by nine basis points to close at 2.54 per cent from 2.63 per cent last Friday. The average yield across short tenor of the curve compressed by 20 basis points, while average yields across medium tenor and long tenor of the curve advanced by 33 basis points and two basis points, respectively. The 27-JAN-2022 maturity bond was the best performer with a decline in yield of 75 basis points, while 23-FEB-2028 maturity bond was the worst performer with an increase in yield of 106 basis points. Meanwhile, auction results for the December 2020 savings bonds showed a significant decline in the amount allotted. The DMO allotted bonds worth N51.50 million across the 2-year (N3.09 million) and 3-year (N48.41 million) tenors at coupon rates of 1.320 percent (-44 basis points) and 1.820 per cent (-94 basis points), respectively. Allotment for 2-year bond declined by 88.94 per cent as compared to N27.92 million allotted in the last auction and allotment for 3-year bond declined by 83.62 per cent versus N295.63 million allotted in the previous auction.