FIXED INCOME MARKETS
MONEY MARKETS
Opening system liquidity plunged further into the negative region at -₦1,010.82 billion, from -₦903.91 billion reported last week Friday. Consequently, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) and Overnight Rate (O/N) increased by 50 bps and 71 bps to 29.89% and 30.96%, respectively.
Outlook: We expect interbank rates to stay elevated tomorrow.
Treasury Bills
Ahead of the NTB auction later this week, the treasury bills market traded mixed to bullish, with minimal buying observed at the long end of the curve while slight selling interests were seen at the short end of the curve. Nevertheless, market closed relatively flat, as average mid-rate lost 0.1bps to 19.549%, from 19.550% at the end of last week.
Outlook: We expect a similar session tomorrow.
FGN Bonds
The FGN local bonds market also started the session in a similar trajectory, with minimal activity on selected papers, including 2026, 2027, 2034, and 2042 papers. At the end of the session, market settled bullish, as the average mid-yield fell by 2bps to 18.68% from 18.70% last week Friday.
Outlook: We expect the same trend to resurface tomorrow.
Eurobonds
The week began positively in the Eurobond market, marked by a surge in bullish sentiments spanning across the SSA and North African regions. This upbeat mood observed in Nigerian bonds was supported by the announcement from the Nigerian Minister of Finance regarding the $2.25 billion loan secured with the World Bank. As a result, the average mid-yield on Nigerian Eurobonds dipped by 20 bps, closing at 9.64%.
Outlook: Tomorrow’s session could be impacted by the S&P flash US services and manufacturing PMI.
Equities
The Nigerian Equity market closed bullish in today’s reading session, as the All-Share Index gained 0.05% to settle at 99,586.57 points. The bullish bias was driven by the partial rebound in the banking sector. Also, the year-to-date return and market capitalization settled at 33.18% and ₦56.32 trillion, respectively.
The Banking and Industrial Indices appreciated by 1.27% and 0.06%, while consumer goods index declined by 0.01%. GTCO led both the total volume charts with 50.16 million units and total value chart with ₦1.77 billion in value.
Outlook: The expect a mixed sentiment tomorrow.
Foreign Exchange
FMDQ’s Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) depreciated by ₦64.50 (or 5.51%) to $/₦1,234.49 compared to $/₦1,169.99 recorded last week Friday.
Outlook: We expect volatility to linger.
Commodities
Crude oil prices edged lower today after Iran said it will not escalate the conflict with Israel. Brent crude lost by 0.61% to $86.76 per barrel, while WTI declined by 0.17% fell by $83.00 per barrel. In similar fashion, the price of gold fell by 2.56% to $2,352.60 per ounce.
Outlook: We expect the volatility to persist.
