Tuesday, August 31, 2022: The Nigerian Investors and Exporters (I&E) FX Window opened the trading session on a positive note with the naira ticking up to N429.17, appreciating by 0.3 percent from the previous closing price of 430.33. As trading progressed, it slipped down slightly to N429.44/$1, however, it remained above the previous closing price. This represents a 0.2 percent day-on-day appreciation.
An exchange rate of N453.20/$ was the highest rate recorded during the intra-day trading before it settled at N429.44/$ at the end of the trading session, while it also traded as low as 418/$ during intra-day trading. According to data from FMDQ, a total of $109.47 million was traded at the Investors and Exporters (I&E) Window for the reporting period, representing an increase of $55.34 million (102 percent) from the $54.13 million traded the previous day.
At the parallel (black) market, the naira weakened by 0.4 percent against the US dollar as it closed at N680/$1. On a week-on-week basis, the naira depreciated 1.5 percent against the dollar. Trading activities at the B2B market show that the exchange rate closed at about N690/$ for the same period being reported. This is based on the information obtained from forex marketers in Lagos.
Foreign Reserves
According to data from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the gross foreign reserve ticked up to $39 billion as of August 29, 2022, increasing by $45 million (0.117 percent) from $38.96 billion recorded on August 26, 2022.
Capital Market Update
As of August 31, 2022, the Nigerian equities market closed the trading session with the NGX All Share Index (ASI) increasing by 39 basis points (bps) to close at 49836.51. The trading volume was 367,340,604 units. The total value that exchanged hands was N3,237,374,560.57.
For the sectors under our review, Consumer Goods, Banking, Oil and Gas, and Pension recorded a bullish performance as their indices closed green. Only the Insurance index closed in red. The Consumer Goods index increased by 180 bps, Banking by 62 bps, Oil and Gas by 33 bps, and Pension by I bps. For the Insurance index, there was a decline of 10 bps for the reporting period.
GUINESS led the top gainers as their shares rose by 9.88 percent, while CHIPLC led the decliners after dropping by 7.69 percent. STERLNBANK emerged as the most traded stock by volume as 162,446,686 units of its stock were traded at N238,936,889.92. On the other hand, FBNH was the most traded by value as N244,668,800.10 exchanged hands for 22,425,621 units of its shares.
