FIXED INCOME MARKET
Money Markets
Interbank system liquidity stayed buoyant, opening with a credit balance of ca ₦391.78 billion, compared to yesterday’s opening balance of ca ₦333.56 billion. However, the Overnight Policy Rate (OPR) and Overnight (ON) rates trended higher to settle at 4.83% and 5.33% from 4.50% and 4.83% respectively.
Treasury Bills
The NTB secondary market was largely quiet today, with most of the attention on the NTB auction. However the market had a bearish undertone, as the plethora of offers across the mid to long tenors drove rates higher by c.6bps, while most buyers stayed on the sidelines amid uncertainty on rate direction.
Bonds
The FGN bonds secondary market witnessed subdued activity, with few trade deals executed on the 2035s and 2036s at c. 12.15% and 12.20%, respectively. Overall, the average yield rose ca 6bps, day-on-day at 10.75%.
Eurobonds
The SSA Sovereign Eurobond curve traded mixed to bullish, as month-end profit-taking drove the Nigerian and Angolan yields higher, while buy-side activity dominated the Ghana market amid the e-levy implementation and suggested deepening of spending cuts to entice Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPIs). Consequently, the average yield on Nigerian sovereign papers settled at 7.70%.
Equities
The domestic bourse closed the day in the green, after two consecutive days of decline, as the Nigerian Stock Exchange All Share Index (NGX ASI) gained 0.13% day-on-day to close at 46,904.48pts, while year-to-date returns extended to ca +9.80%. A cross trade done on MTN Nigeria Communications Plc elevated market performance.
The NGX Oil & Gas index gained ca 0.27%, while the NGX Banking, Consumer Goods, and Industrial indices lost ca 0.60%, 0.15%, and 0.03%, day-on-day, respectively.
Ecobank Transactional Incorporated led both the volume and value charts with ca 61.89 million units, traded at 742.03 million worth of trades.
Foreign Exchange
FMDQ’s Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Fixing (NAFEX) rate remained stable at ₦417.00/US$1.00.
Commodities
Global crude oil prices showed signs of recovery on the back of the reports printed by the American Petroleum Institute (API), which showed signals of supply tightness and the possibility of new Western sanctions against Russia. Thus, Brent Crude Oil price rose ca 3.31% day-on-day to settle at US$113.88pb, while WTI also gained ca 3.49% day-on-day to US$107.88pb as at report time. Spot Gold gained ca 1.10% day-on-day to settle at US$1,939.20 per ounce as at report time.
