The Nigerian equities market in the month of February shows a reversed performance in comparison with the performance recorded in the month before. The all -share- index opened with 101,154.46 and closed with 99,980.30, this affirms a drop of 1.16 per cent. The market capitalisation also witnessed a drop of 1.17%. This drop is affiliated to high yields in the fixed-income market predominant in the period under survey. The treasury bill auction by the CBN gives a spike to 19 per cent with an implied yield of 23 percent annually.
The hike in the monetary policy rate to 22.75 per cent from 18.75 per cent will also aid further, interest of investors away from the capital market in the short- to medium-term as investors seek better yields. However, with companies releasing their full year financial statements and dividends declaration, the Equities Market is expected to retain some level of convictions.

Notable happenings

Fidelity Bank Plc has released its condensed unaudited financial statements for 2023. In FY 2023, the bank posted gross earnings of N552.77 billion, marking a 64% growth from the N337.05 billion posted in FY 2022.
Nigerian Breweries Audited Financial Statement For The Year Ended 31 December 2023. Data from The Nigerian Brewery audited financial statement for the year 2023 shows a loss before tax of N145.2 billion and a loss after tax of N106.3 billion which gives tax credit of N38.9 billion due to the loss.
Seplat Energy Plc declares a Final Dividend of US$0.03/share (3 cents per Ordinary Share of N0.50k) each, and a Special Dividend of US$0.03/share (3 cents per Ordinary Share of N0.50k)