FIXED INCOME MARKETS
Money Market
Opening system liquidity weakened further by c. 26.28% from ₦47.72 billion yesterday to ₦35.18 billion today. Thus, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) soared by 500bps to 10.50%, while the Overnight Rate (O/N) expanded by 479bps to 11.05%.
Outlook: We expect interbank rates to remain elevated in the interim.
Treasury Bills
The Treasury Bills market repriced higher ahead of the NTB auction rescheduled for Thursday (September 28, 2023), suggesting market’s expectation for an uptick in stop rates should liquidity remain weak. Despite the serene activity observed, the average mid-rate increased by 34bps to 7.66%.
Outlook: We expect market activity to be skewed towards the NTB auction on Thursday. (As tomorrow’s public holiday is marked for the Eid-el-Maulud celebration)
FGN Bonds
The local bonds market expressed mild bullish sentiment in today’s session, with minimal buyside interests recorded across select short and long dated papers. Overall, the average mid-yield declined marginally by 1bp to close at 14.19%.
Outlook: We expect market activity to stay relatively quiet in the absence of any liquidity-induced positive drivers.
Eurobonds
The Eurobonds market showcased a bearish reaction following weak US economic data. Both the SSA and MENA region suffered some selloffs across the curve. Consequently, the average yield increased by 8bps to 11.40%.
Outlook: We expect market to continue to trade mixed sentiments in response to the US economic data.
Equities
The Nigerian’s equity market closed on a bearish note today, as the ASI declined by 0.34% to settle at 66,652.17 points, while year-to-date return settled at c.30.05%. The selling interests seen on ZENITHBANK (-2.97%) and UBA (-1.71%) impacted the pull back in today’s session.
The NGX Banking and Oil & Gas Indices depreciated by 1.40% and 1.24%, respectively. While the NGX Industrial Index declined by 0.36%. The Consumer Goods Index gained 0.16%. ACCESSCORP led the volume charts with 49.97 million units while UBA led the value charts with ₦787.37 billion.
Outlook: We expect the bearish trend to persist in the interim.
Foreign Exchange
FMDQ’s Investors and Exporters (I&E) exchange rate appreciated to $/₦755.08, compared to $/₦773.25 recorded yesterday.
Outlook: We expect rates volatility to persist.
Commodities
Oil Prices ranged today, as investors weighed demand concerns stemming from an uncertain economic outlook against expectations of tighter supply for the rest of this year. To quantify, brent crude oil prices appreciated by 0.47% to $93.73 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) appreciated by 0.69% to US$90.30 per barrel as of writing time. However, Spot Gold lost 0.61% to US$1,924.80 per ounce at the time of this report.
Outlook: We expect oil prices to stay elevated.
