Financial stocks lead NGX activities, drive volume by 59.4 per cent

• Weekly FMDQ FX turnover rises by 17% to $793m

The financial services industry dominated in volume terms at the end of last week’s transactions at the Nigerian Exchange Limited (NGX).
It led the activity chart with 1.2 billion shares valued at N11.5 billion in 12,775 deals, contributing 59.4 per cent to the total equity turnover volume.

The oil and gas industry followed with 328.7 million shares worth N3.2 billion in 4,713 deals, then the services industry with a turnover of 131.2 million shares worth N539.7 million in 2,263 deals.

Trading in the top three equities namely Japaul Gold and Venture Plc, Fidelity Bank Plc and Jaiz Bank Plc (measured by volume) accounted for 488.1 million shares worth N1.9billion in 3,136 deals, contributing 24.11 per cent to total equity turnover.

Consequently, a turnover of 2.02 billion shares worth N27.7 billion was recorded in 32,763 deals by investors on the floor of the exchange, in contrast to a total of 2.5 billion units, valued at N45.3 billion that changed hands in 32,815 deals during the preceding week.

On the price movement chart, positive sentiment persisted for the third consecutive week, occasioned by bargain hunting in MTN Nigeria (+2.9.per cent), Seplat (+7.4 per cent) and Airtel (+1.1 per cent), causing the all-share index and market capitalisation to appreciate by 0.4 per cent to close the week at 71,112.99 and N39.108 trillion respectively.

With the development, the month-to-date and year-to-date returns rose to +0.4 per cent and +38.8 per cent, respectively.

Similarly, other indices finished higher except NGX Main Board, NGX Banking, NGX Industrial Goods and NGX Sovereign Bond which depreciated by 0.11 per cent, 0.04 per cent, 1.18 per cent and 0.27 per cent respectively while the NGX ASeM index closed flat.

Reacting to market performance, analysts at Cordros Capital said: “We believe investors will closely monitor the results of the upcoming MPC meeting next week to gain further clarity on the movement of yields in the FI market.

“As a result, we anticipate cautious trading on the local bourse. Overall, we advise investors to take positions in only fundamentally justified stocks as the weak macro story remains a significant headwind for corporate earnings.”

Analysts at Vetiva Dealings and Brokerage said: “We still expect similar tepid trading sessions next week, as investors look to other asset classes, given the significant returns most of the counters have posted this year.”

Further breakdown of last week’s trading showed that a total of 36,548 units of exchange-traded products (ETPs) valued at N4.61 million were traded in 95 deals compared with a total of 32,861 units valued at N4.4 million transacted last week in 143 deals.

Also, 87,570 units of bonds, valued at N80.851 million were traded in 54 deals compared with a total of 62,233 units valued at N65.981 million transacted last week in 16 deals.

Fifty-four equities appreciated during the week higher than 37 equities in the previous week. Thirty equities depreciated lower than 43 in the previous week, while 72 equities remained unchanged, lower than 75 recorded in the previous week.

Meanwhile, the total turnover in the FMDQ Securities Exchange FX Spot and Derivatives markets for the week ended November 17, 2023, was $792.98 million, representing an increase of 16.92 per cent ($114.74 million) from $678.24 million reported for the week ending November 10, 2023.

According to the exchange, the week-on-week (WoW) increase in the total turnover was solely driven by the 20.34 per cent ($133.14 million) increase in FX Spot turnover, offsetting the 77.87 per cent ($18.40 million) decrease in FX Derivatives turnover.

In addition, the WoW decrease in FX Derivatives turnover was solely driven by the 77.87 per cent ($18.40 million) decrease in FX Forwards turnover, whilst there were no trades executed in both Exchange-Traded FX Futures and Cleared Naira-Settled Non-Deliverable Forwards markets.

Also, the total value of transactions in the FX Spot market for the week ended November 17 was $787.75 million, representing an increase of 20.34 per cent ($133.14 million) from the value of transactions executed in the week-end November 10 ($654.61 million).

Also, for the week ended November 17, 2023, the average Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Fixing (NAFEX) rate was $/₦850.43, compared to $/₦839.74 recorded in the week ended November 3, 2023, representing a depreciation of the Naira against the dollar by 1.26 per cent ($/₦10.69).
February