Global Markets
The month of August began on a turbulent note as major indices plunged following the disappointing US manufacturing and jobs data, fueling fears of a possible recession. The market's anxiety was further exacerbated by a surprise rate hike by the Bank of Japan (BoJ), which triggered a rapid unwinding of the yen carry trade and simultaneously intensified global sell-offs. Notably, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) spiked to a four-year high of 60 points. However, markets quickly rebounded over a stronger conviction for a US Fed rate cut in September.
Nigerian Equities
In August, the local bourse saw mixed sentiments as investors treaded cautiously ahead of the release of banks’ H1’24 financial results and interim dividend announcements. This led to a 1.2% MoM decline in the All-Share Index (ASI), with market capitalisation closing at N55.39 trillion. Consequently, the YtD return settled at 29.2% by the end of the month. Selloffs in the Industrial Goods sector, particularly DANGCEM (-10.00%) and BUACEMENT (-20.46%), emerged as the primary drag on the index, following the sustained negative impact of FX volatility on their H1’24 earnings. Additionally, losses amassed in major stocks MTNN (-10.00%), TRANSPOWER (-10.35%), TRANSCOHOT (-8.54%) and UCAP (-41.29%), masked gains in counters like OANDO (+207.60%), BUAFOODS (+3.95%), JBERGER (+75.77%) and ZENITHBANK (+15.56%).
