FIXED INCOME MARKETS
Money Market
System liquidity witnessed an improvement today but remained in the negative territory, opening at -₦97.71 billion, compared to yesterday’s -₦136.14 billion. Consequently, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) declined by 17bps to 22.93% and the Overnight Rate (O/N) fell by 5bps to 23.83%.
Outlook: We expect the interbank rates to remain elevated.
Treasury Bills
In anticipation of tomorrow’s NTB auction, the treasury bills market displayed a mixed to bullish performance. Offers were concentrated around the short end, while buyers showed interest at the long end of the curve. Overall, the average mid-rate experienced a decline of c.4bps, settling at 10.99%.
Outlook: We expect market to be skewed towards the NTB auction tomorrow, as the DMO would be offering treasury bills worth ₦211.71 billion.
FGN Bonds
The FGN bonds market witnessed a bullish theme, marked by notable buyside interest focused on specific papers, particularly the 2026, 2028, 2038, and 2053 maturities. As a result, the average mid-yield closed c.3bps lower at 16.25%.
Outlook: We expect similar posture in tomorrow’s session.
Eurobonds
In today’s session, the Eurobonds market sustained a bullish trajectory driven by the anticipation of a less hawkish tone in the minutes of the last FOMC meeting. Buyers dominated the curve across SSA and MENA, including Nigeria’s curve, leading to a notable decrease in the average mid-yield by c.16bps to 10.68%.
Outlook: We expect market sentiment to remain positive, as the FOMC minutes is likely to align with market expectations.
Equities
The Nigerian equity market gained today, following buying interests across several tickers, despite attempted pullback in OANDO (-3.72%). The All-Share Index (ASI) appreciated by 0.08%, settling at 71,066.64 points, resulting in a year-to-date return of 38.66%. Market activity was mixed, showing 37.09% increase in total volume traded and 26.07% plunge in total value traded.
The Banking and Consumer Goods Indices depreciated by 0.36% and 0.09%, respectively, while the Industrial and Oil & Gas Indices flattened. UNITYBNK led the total volume charts with 75.44 million units while VFDGROUP led in total value with ₦481.81 billion.
Outlook: We expect market to remain mixed.
Foreign Exchange
FMDQ’s Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) depreciated by 9.73% (or ₦80.83) to $/₦830.97 from $/₦750.14 recorded yesterday.
Outlook: We expect the volatility to persist.
Commodities
Oil fell today, reversing steep gains made in the past two sessions, as investors turned cautious ahead of a meeting of OPEC+ this Sunday when the producer group may discuss deepening supply cuts due to slowing global growth. Brent crude oil prices depreciated by 0.47% to $81.93 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) lost 0.48%, to US$77.45 per barrel at the time of the report. In contrast, Gold prices increased following weaker Dollar, adding 1.17% to US$2,003.20 per ounce.
Outlook: We expect oil prices to remain elevated in the interim.
