Monday, August 15, 2022: The Nigerian Investors and Exporters (I&E) FX Window opened the trading session on a negative note as the naira exchanged for the dollar at N429.70/$1, representing a 0.02 percent decrease from the previous closing price. By the end of intra-day trading, the naira declines further against the dollar to settle at N430/$1, implying depreciation of 0.07 percent from the opening price. Also, on a day-on-day basis, the naira happens to have fallen by 0.1 percent from the closing price (N429.62/$1) recorded at the end of the previous trading session.
An exchange rate of N444/$1 was the highest rate recorded during the intra-day trading before it settled at N430/$1 at the end of the trading session, while it also traded as low as 417/$1 during intra-day trading. According to data from FMDQ, a total of $134.3 million was traded at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window for the reporting period, representing a 190 percent increase from the $46.31 million previously traded.
In the parallel market, the naira strengthened against the dollar. As of the close of trading, the naira appreciated to about N670/$, gaining about N5, having closed at about N675 the previous day. Historic rates show that on a week-on-week basis, the naira declined by 1.5 percent against the dollar as it exchanged for N660 with the dollar the previous week. Trading activities at the B2B market show that the naira strengthened as the exchange rate closed at about N680/$ for the same period being reported. This is based on the information obtained from BDC operators in Lagos.
Foreign Reserve
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the gross foreign reserve recorded a slight increase and stands at $38.884 billion as of August 12, 2022, increasing by $2.5 million (0.01 percent) from $38.881 billion recorded on August 10, 2022.
Capital Market Update
As of August 15, 2022, the Nigerian equities market closed the trading session with the NGX All Share Index (ASI) declining by only 7 basis points (bps) to close at 49629.43. The trading volume was 10,640,886 units, decreasing by 99 percent from 750,285,275 units recorded at the end of the previous day’s trading. The total value that exchanged hands was N82,201,580.8. declining by 98 percent from the value (N5,307,221,217.8) at the close of the previous day of trading.
The indices for most of the sectors under our review declined while others had a different outcome. The Consumer Goods, Oil and gas, and Pension sectors recorded a bearish performance as their indices closed in red. The Banking sector index increased while that of Insurance stabilized. The Consumer Good index decreased by 59 basis points (bps), Oil and Gas by 36 bps, and Pension by 30 bps. On the other hand, the Banking index increased by 15 bps while Insurance stabilized.
LIVESTOCK led the top gainers, having risen by 7 percent, while TRANSCORP led the top decliners after dropping by 2.78 percent. JAIZBANK was the most traded stock by volume as 1,540,422 units of its shares were traded at N1,433,018.98. ZENITHBANK emerged as the most traded stock by value as N13,850,833.65 exchanged hands for 638,128 units of its shares.
