FIXED INCOME MARKETS
Money Market
Opening system liquidity was buoyed by FAAC credit today, as it rose from ₦52.97 billion negative, to ₦482.16 billion positive. Consequently, the Open Repo Rate declined by 443bps to 13.15%, and the Overnight Rate lost 403bps to 14.80%.
Outlook: We expect rates to ease in the interim.
Treasury Bills
The treasury bills market traded on a calm note today, with minimal activity at the long end of the curve. Also, the CBN auctioned ₦350.00 billion worth of OMO bills today and sold same with c.96% of the allotment on the 365-Day paper. The stop rates across the 92-Day, 176-Day and 365-Day papers were 10.00%, 13.50% and 17.00%, respectively.
Outlook: We expect market rates to retrace higher tomorrow, due to the OMO auction result and low system liquidity.
FGN Bonds
Activity in the FGN local bonds market was quiet as well, as players focused on the FGN bond action. At market close, average mid-yield increased by 4bps to settle at 14.77%.
Outlook: We anticipate an uptick in rates in tomorrow’s session, considering today’s bond auction result.
Eurobonds
The Eurobonds market witnessed positive sentiment across the African papers, as buyside interest reverberated across the curve. Both the SSA and North African regions posted meaningful gains. As a result, average mid-yield on the Nigerian curve shed 18bps to settle at 9.68%.
Outlook: We expect market sentiment to trade mixed.
Equities
The Nigerian bourse witnessed selloffs in today’s session. However, the bullish sentiment on DANGCEM (+9.93%) and OANDO (+9.96%) cushioned the market to settle on a bullish note, as the All-Share Index (ASI) still appreciated by 2.22% to 104,674.67 points, with the year-to-date return settling at 39.99% and total market capitalization getting to ₦57.28 trillion.
Trading activity was positive, with a 32.84% increase in total volume and a 193.06% increase in total value. JAPAULGOLD led the volume charts with 83.86 million units while DANGCEM led the value chart with ₦8.58 billion. The Banking, Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas Indices lost 1.05%, 0.25%, and 0.12%, respectively, while the Industrial Goods Index gained a fantastic 6.65%.
Outlook: We expect a similar momentum tomorrow.
Foreign Exchange
FMDQ’s Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) depreciated by 51.21% (or ₦456.73) to $/₦1,348.63 from $/₦891.90 recorded last Friday.
Outlook: We expect volatility to persist.
Commodities
Oil prices fall as China property crisis overshadows Middle East violence. Brent crude was reported at $82.51 per barrel, and West Texas Intermediate (WTI) at $76.89 per barrel, as at printing time. Gold increased to $2,026.60 per ounce as of printing time.
Outlook: We expect the bullish bias to linger tomorrow.
