FIXED INCOME MARKETS
MONEY MARKETS
System liquidity opened short at -₦532.03 billion, down from ₦768.39 billion reported yesterday. Nevertheless, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) declined by 265 bps to 23.71%, while the Overnight Rate (O/N) decreased by 260 bps to 24.54%.
Outlook: We expect interbank rates to stay elevated in the interim.
Treasury Bills
Today, the treasury bills market had a quiet but mixed session. There were bids and offers for treasury bills maturing in February, April, and June 2025. By the end of the day, the market closed on a bearish note, with the average mid-rate increasing by 13 bps to 19.96%.
Outlook: We expect the mixed trend to persist tomorrow, although, with a likelihood of closing bearish, given the deficit system liquidity.
FGN Bonds
The local FGN bonds market had a quiet session albeit with a bearish sentiment due to several offers on the 2026, 2033, 2037, and 2038 maturities. Overall, the market closed relatively flat, as the average mid-yield settled at 18.62%.
Outlook: We expect market to trade cautiously tomorrow.
Equities
The Nigerian stock market experienced minimal change, with the All-Share Index inching up by 0.002% to close at 99,842.94 points, compared to 99,840.95 points yesterday. This resulted in a year-to-date return of 33.53% (up from 33.52% yesterday) and a market capitalization of ₦56.48 trillion. The market breadth showed a ratio of 2.06x, with 35 advancers and 17 decliners.
Despite some stocks closing positively, the bullish sentiment was offset by certain mid-cap stocks such as FIDELITYBK (-4.15%) and FBNH (-0.45%).
Trading activity was mixed, with a 6.04% decline in total volume and a 53.64% increase in value traded. The Banking, Industrial, and Consumer Goods Indices saw gains of 0.75%, 0.02%, and 0.22% respectively, while the Oil & Gas Index remained unchanged. FBNH led both the volume and value charts with 871.08 million units and ₦19.12 billion in value traded.
Outlook: We expect the mixed trend to persist.
Foreign Exchange
FMDQ’s Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) depreciated by ₦2.34 (or 0.16%) to $/₦1,485.36 compared to $/₦1,483.02 recorded yesterday.
Outlook: We expect volatility to persist.
Eurobonds
The SSA and North African Eurobonds experienced a bearish theme today, with selling interests observed across most papers.
In the US, Initial Jobless came in at 238k, lesser than 243k seen in preceding period but surpassed 235k market estimate, while US Housing Starts, came in at 1.28 million, weaker than both market forecast (1.38 million) and preceding data (1.35 million).
Overall, Nigerian papers closed bearish, as average mid-yield increased by 14bps to 10.16%.
Outlook: We expect the African Eurobonds market to be partly impacted US S&P flash manufacturing and services PMI.
Commodities
U.S. crude oil prices surged to over $82 per barrel today, as inventories of oil and gasoline declined. Brent crude rose by 0.43% to $85.44 per barrel, while WTI increased by 0.45% to $81.94 per barrel. Additionally, gold prices saw a 0.94% increase, reaching $2,368.50 per ounce at the time of writing.
Outlook: We expect the volatility to persist.
