Money Market
Opening system liquidity improved to start the week but remained in negative territory, keeping the interbank rates elevated. Specifically, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) and the Overnight Rate (O/N) increased by 5bps and 4bps to 32.28% and 32.81%, respectively.
Outlook: We expect the interbank rates to maintain similar levels tomorrow.
Treasury Bills
The treasury bills market started the week with a mixed to bearish tone due to tight system liquidity. Selling interest was evident in the mid-and long-term papers, particularly in the March 2025, April 2025, and some September 2025 papers. The average mid-rate for the benchmark NTB increased by 45 bps, settling at 21.29%.
Outlook: We expect the same sentiment to persist tomorrow.
FGN Bonds
The local FGN bonds market saw some demand for specific papers at the beginning of the day. However, towards the end of today’s session, a few sellers offered specific papers, particularly those with maturity dates of Feb 2028, Feb 2031, May 2033, Apr 2049, Mar 2050, and Jun 2053. Overall, the average mid-yield settled at 18.78%.
Outlook: We expect a mixed theme tomorrow.
Eurobonds
The Eurobonds market traded sideways today, with mixed sentiments observed across the African papers. Nigeria and Egypt saw some selling interest, while Angola closed on a bullish note.
The major highlight today was the Ecobank Transnational Incorporated (ETI)—144A/REG S US$-Denominated Benchmark 5-year Senior Unsecured Notes issuance. The yield is expected to be set at 10.375%, with an expected size of $350 million, but the latest information indicates that the books are over $850 million. Overall, the average benchmark yield across Nigerian papers increased by 2 basis points to 9.43%.
Outlook: The market will continue to assess the situation in the Middle East and focus on tomorrow’s jobs report.
Nigerian Equities
The Nigerian bourse had a positive start, with the NGX-ASI and market capitalization increasing by 0.19%, ending at 97,706.70 points and ₦56.14 trillion, respectively. This was driven by increased interest in DANGSUGAR (+5.88%), UBA (+2.38%), OANDO (+1.99%), FBNH (+1.60%), and MTNN (+0.42%), resulting in a year-to-date ASI growth of 30.67%. The Banking sector performed best with a 0.81% gain, followed by Consumer Goods (+0.40%) and Oil and Gas (+0.22%), while the Insurance and Industrial Goods sectors saw declines of 0.50% and 0.14%, respectively.
Outlook: We expect a mixed play tomorrow.
Foreign Exchange
The Naira lost 0.24% of its value against the USD at the NAFEM window, ending at an exchange rate of $1 to ₦1,635.15.
Outlook: We anticipate that the volatility will persist.
Commodities
The price of oil rose by more than 3% as the market anticipated a potential strike by Israel on Iran. Brent prices increased by 3.50% to $80.80, while WTI prices increased by 3.59% to $77.03. In contrast, gold prices decreased as the U.S. dollar remained solid, and recent employment data caused investors to lower their expectations of a significant rate cut from the Federal Reserve in November. Currently, the price of gold is at $2,664.50 per ounce.
Outlook: We expect the positive trend to persist.
