FIXED INCOME MARKETS
MONEY MARKETS
Opening system liquidity saw a significant increase of +437.99%, rising from ₦104.61 billion reported yesterday to ₦562.79 billion today. However, both the Open Repo Rate and the Overnight Rate experienced upward movements, with the Open Repo Rate rising by 187 bps to 25.34% and the Overnight Rate increasing by 26 bps, settling at 25.18%.
Outlook: We expect rates to hover at similar bands tomorrow.
Treasury Bills
The treasury bills market commenced today’s session with a subdued atmosphere, influenced by the notice of an OMO Bills auction. At the primary market, the CBN offered a total of ₦500.00 billion worth of OMO Bills spanning across short, medium, and long-dated papers. Despite receiving bids totalling ₦1.2 trillion, the CBN sold ₦666.65 billion, exceeding the offered size by 33.33%. The stop rates for short- and medium-term papers remained unchanged at 19.00% and 19.50%, respectively, compared to the previous auction. However, there was a slight decrease of approximately 37.5bps in the stop rate for the long-dated paper, dropping to 21.125% from 21.50% in the previous auction. By the close of trading, the market exhibited a bearish sentiment, resulting in an increase of approximately 168bps in the average mid-rate, reaching 17.43%.
Outlook: We expect a mixed theme in tomorrow’s session.
FGN Bonds
The domestic bonds market ended the session with a slight bullish tone, marked by buying interest noted on bonds maturing in 2028, 2029, 2031, and Feb 2034. Earlier today, there was selling pressure evident across various bonds, likely stemming from yesterday’s release of the Q2’2024 FGN bonds issuance calendar. Overall, the average mid-yield experienced a marginal uptick of 1 bps, settling at 18.78%.
Outlook: We expect the mixed theme to linger tomorrow.
Eurobonds
Trading in the Eurobonds markets exhibited a mixed tone, influenced partly by domestic factors and the release of hotter-than-expected US ADP employment data, showing an addition of 184k jobs in March (Est. 155k), up from 155k in February. In the Nigerian and Angolan sectors, the market opened with mixed sentiments but closed on a bullish note, while Ghana’s dollar market began bearishly but ended with mixed sentiments. Egypt maintained a bullish stance throughout the session. By the session’s close, the Nigerian Eurobonds market saw a slight bullish trend, marked by a 5-bps decline in the average mid-yield to 9.54%.
Outlook: We expect increased volatility tomorrow, subject to surprise statements from the Fed speakers tomorrow.
Equities
The Nigerian equity market settled bearish today due to significant profit taking in the banking tickers, particularly the tier 1 banks: ACCESSCORP (-4.20%), UBA (-1.79%), ZENITHBANK (-1.23%), and GTCO (-1.23%) . Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) lost 0.32% to settle at 104,181.32 points, while year-to-date returns and market capitalization settled at 39.33% and ₦58.91 trillion, respectively.
Total volume and value traded declined by 25.75% and 39.04%, respectively. ACCESSCORP led the volume chart with 50.00 million units while ZENITHBANK led the values chart with ₦1.86 billion. The Banking Index declined by 2.36%, while the Industrial and Consumer Goods Indices appreciated by 0.01% and 0.16%, respectively. The Oil & Gas Index remained unchanged.
Outlook: We expect similar session tomorrow.
Foreign Exchange
FMDQ’s Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) appreciated by 1.23% (or ₦15.73) to $/₦1,262.85 from $/₦1,278.58 recorded yesterday.
Outlook: We expect FX rate to stabilize in the interim.
Commodities
Today saw a rise in crude oil prices, extending a recent trend of gains following an OPEC+ committee meeting that concluded without suggesting alterations to production policy. Brent crude surged by 0.92% to $89.74 per barrel, and WTI climbed by 0.87% to $85.89 per barrel. Likewise, gold prices experienced an increase of 1.03%, reaching $2,305.20.
Outlook: We expect oil prices to remain elevated.
