- Senate confirms four nominees as CBN Directors, Eke bows out
Breaking the three days losing streak, the local bourse posted gains as investors recorded a gain of N390.43 billion at the close of transactions on Thursday.
The benchmark index advanced by 0.72 percent to close at 99,980.30 points.
Gains in GTCO (+10.00%), ZENITHBANK (+7.86%) and FBNH (+1.27%), contributed to overriding losses in NESTLE (-9.09%), TRANSCORP (-0.08%), and STANBIC (-0.45%), keeping the market in the green.
However, the market is on track for another week of loss.
The year-to-date return rose to 33.71 percent, while market capitalization gained N390.43 billion to close at N54.71 trillion.
Analysis of Thursday’s market activities showed trade turnover settled higher relative to the previous session, with the value of transactions up by 49.27 percent.
A total of 542.95m shares valued at N8.70 billion were exchanged in 9,650 deals. UBA (+10.00%) led both the volume and value chart with 93.71m units traded in deals worth N2.07 billion.
Market breadth closed positive at a 1.84-to-1 ratio with advancing issues outnumbering the declining ones. GTCO (-10.00%) topped thirty-four (34) others on the leader’s table while SUNO SASUR (+10.00%) led eighteen (18) others on the laggard’s log.
At the currency market, the Naira appreciated by 0.9 percent to N1, 595.11/USD at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market.
The overnight lending rate expanded by 79bps to 23.9 percent at the fixed income market in the absence of any significant funding pressure on the system.
Activities in the Treasury bills secondary market were bullish, as the average yield contracted by 2bps to 16.9 percent.
Across the curve, the average yield closed flat at the short end but declined at the mid (-1bp) and long (-3bps) segments following demand for the 175DTM (-3bps) and 343DTM (-27bps) bills, respectively. Elsewhere, the average yield pared by 1bp to 18.0 percent in the OMO segment.
Proceedings in the Treasury bond secondary market were mixed but with a bearish tilt, as the average yield expanded slightly by 1bp to 17.1%. Across the curve, the average yield expanded at the short (+2bps) end as market participants sold off the MAR-2027 (+10bps) bond but closed flat at the mid and long segments.
Senate confirms four nominees as CBN Directors, Eke bows out
The Senate on Thursday confirmed four out of five nominees as members of the Board of Directors of the Central Bank of Nigeria.
At a sitting on Thursday the Upper Chamber said the approval was under sections 6(1), (2) (d) and 10 of the Central Bank of Nigeria Act, 2007.
The confirmation followed the submission and consideration of a report by the Chairman of the Committee on Banking, Insurance & Other Financial Institutions, Adetokunbo Abiru representing Lagos East.
Initially, the candidates billed to appear before the Upper Chamber were Robert Agbede, Ado Yakubu Wanka, Professor Murtala Sabo Sagagi-Urum, Kalu Eke, and Muslimat Olanike Aliyu.
However, Abiru in his report, explained that only four ( Robert Agbede, Ado Yakubu Wanka, Professor Murtala Sabo Sagagi and Muslimat Olanike Aliyu) out of the five nominees had appeared for the screening exercise.
The South East nominee, Urum Kalu Eke did not attend the session.
A member of the Committee, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu representing Abia North rose to explain that Urum Kalu Eke who is also one of his constituents, had apprised him of his intention to decline the appointment to avoid a conflict of interest.
According to him, Eke who is a consultant with the World Bank and other international financial institutions might not have ample time to function optimally in the new appointment.
