FIXED INCOME MARKETS
MONEY MARKETS
System liquidity opened negative, despite showing an improvement from yesterday’s balance. It increased from -₦560.07 billion to -₦427.15 billion. Consequently, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) declined by 102bps to 29.86%, while the Overnight Rate (O/N) fell by 119 bps to 30.65%.
Outlook: We expect interbank rates to cling to similar levels tomorrow.
Treasury Bills
Today, the treasury bills market showed a mixed to bullish bias. Buyside interests focused on long-dated maturities, while selling interests centered around the belly of the curve. By closing, the market was relatively bullish, with the average mid-rate decreasing slightly by c.2bps to 19.60%.
Outlook: We expect tomorrow’s session to trend sideways.
FGN Bonds
The local FGN bonds market continued to trade calmly with a slight bearish undertone. Selling interests were observed on the 2031, 2033, and 2034 papers. Overall, the market closed relatively bearish, as the average mid-yield closed at 18.23%.
Outlook: Tomorrow’s session is expected to trend in a similar pattern.
Equities
The Nigerian stock market began with a bearish trend in the morning, but later shifted to a bullish tone, primarily driven by the recovery of AIRTELAFR, which gained 8.97%. As a result, the All-Share Index rose by 0.84% to finish at 98,156.71 points. The year-to-date return and market capitalization settled at 31.27% and ₦55.53 trillion, respectively.
Across the sectoral indices, the Banking, Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas Indices declined by 3.04%, 0.06% and 0.36%, respectively. The Industrial Goods Index flattened. NB led the volume charts with 83.75 million units, while AIRTELAFRI topped the values chart with N1.93 billion.
Outlook: We expect the bearish bias to ease tomorrow.
Foreign Exchange
FMDQ’s Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) depreciated by ₦74.97 (or 5.14%) to $/₦1,533.99 compared to $/₦1,459.02 recorded yesterday.
Outlook: We expect volatility to persist.
Eurobonds
The African Eurobond market continued to show strong bullish momentum in today’s trading. There was significant buying interest across the yield curve, driven by speeches from Federal Reserve officials. Overall, the Nigerian Eurobonds closed bullish, as average mid-yield decreased by c.10bps to close at 9.54%.
Outlook: We expect the bullish bias to subside tomorrow, partly due to profit-taking, especially by short-term players.
Commodities
Oil prices increased today as U.S. stockpiles fell for the second week and inflation eased. Brent oil rose by 0.62% to $83.26 per barrel, while WTI increased by 0.85% to $79.30 per barrel. However, the price of gold declined by 0.44% to $2,384.30 per ounce at the time of writing.
Outlook: We expect the volatility to persist.
