FIXED INCOME MARKETS
Money Market
Opening system fell to a negative balance today. Accordingly, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) increased by 591 bps to 31.25%, while the Overnight Rate (O/N) increased by 610 bps to 31.91%.
Outlook: We expect interbank rates stay elevated tomorrow.
Treasury Bills
The treasury bills market closed on a bearish note today, impacted by the MPC’s interest rate decision today. As a result, the average mid-rate across the benchmark NTB papers increased by 43 bps to 23.56%.
Outlook: We expect the bearish bias to linger tomorrow, even as the DMO would be offering ₦277.96 billion worth of T-Bills.
FGN Bonds
The local FGN bond market settled slightly bearish, after a mixed trading session. Overall, the average mid-yield rose by 3 bps to 19.46%.
Outlook: We expect the current sentiment to resurface tomorrow.
Equities
The Nigerian stock market concluded on a bearish note with the All-Share Index decreasing by 0.08% to reach 100,486.12 points. The year-to-date return and market capitalization settled at 34.39% and ₦56.89 trillion, respectively. VERITASKAP recorded the highest trading volume with 22.51 million units, while UCAP led the value chart with ₦817.09 billion.
Outlook: We expect the mixed bias to persist.
Foreign Exchange
Naira depreciated against the USD by 3.23% to $/₦1,548.76.
Outlook: We expect volatility to persist.
Eurobonds
The African Eurobonds market sustained its bullish bias today. Thus, the average mid-yield for the Nigerian curve decreased by 4 bps, to 9.78%.
Outlook: We expect the bullish trend to ease tomorrow.
Commodities
The price of crude oil has fallen to its lowest point in more than a month, even though there have been recent exchanges of attacks between Israel and Houthi militants in Yemen. Brent prices dropped by 2.01% to $80.04, while WTI prices decreased by 2.35% to $76.58. In addition, the price of gold rose by 0.54% to $2,407.50 per ounce.
Outlook: We expect the volatility to persist.
