FIXED INCOME MARKETS
MONEY MARKETS
System liquidity started the week with a deficit balance of -₦549.24 billion compared to yesterday’s -₦606.76. As a result, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) shrank by 92 bps to 29.33%, and the Overnight Rate (O/N) decreased by 58 bps to 30.67%.
Outlook: We expect interbank rates to hover at similar levels tomorrow.
Treasury Bills
The treasury bills market demonstrated a relatively subdued performance today, with limited activity observed in specific maturities concentrated towards the longer end of the curve. Despite some trades being executed on a few select papers, the market ultimately settled in a bearish position. This was reflected in the average mid-rate, which increased by 31 bps to settle at 19.26%.
Outlook: We expect activity to trade calmly tomorrow.
FGN Bonds
At the start of today’s session, the FGN local bonds market saw more offers than bids. However, as the day progressed, some buyers showed interest in the 2026, Feb 2034, and July 2034 papers. At the closing bell, the market settled relatively bullish, with an average mid-yield that marginally decreased by 1bp, closing at 18.63%.
Outlook: We anticipate a mixed sentiment tomorrow.
Equities
The Nigerian equity market opened the week on a bearish note, with the All-Share Index losing 0.28% to close at 97,879.94 points. Despite the bullish performance of stocks like FBNH (+9.83%) and ACCESSCORP (+2.11%), the selling interests on DANGSUGAR (-10.00%) and ZENITHBANK (-3.99%) affected the broad market’s bearish bias. Consequently, the year-to-date return and market capitalization settled lower at 30.90% and ₦55.36 trillion, respectively.
Overall, activities slightly improved, with a 4.59% increase in total volume traded and a 1.20% increase in total value traded compared to the previous day. All Indices closed in the negative territory. The Banking and Consumer Goods sectors shed 1.10% and 0.79%, respectively, while the Industrial and Oil & Gas indices fell by 0.02% and 0.02%, respectively. UBA led both the total volume charts with 34.56 million units and the total value chart with ₦799.45 billion.
Outlook: We expect tomorrow’s session to trade sideways.
Foreign Exchange
FMDQ’s Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange (NAFEM) depreciated by ₦79.88 (or 5.96%) to $/₦1,419.11 compared to $/₦1,339.23 recorded last week Friday.
Outlook: We expect volatility to linger.
Eurobonds
Today, the African Eurobond market experienced a bullish trend, as there was a lot of buying interest across the SSA and North African curve. As a result, the average mid-yield on Nigerian Eurobonds decreased by 16 basis points to reach 9.67%.
Outlook: We expect players to trade cautiously tomorrow.
Commodities
Crude oil prices saw a decline of more than 1% today due to the U.S. Secretary of State’s efforts to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and prevent an Israeli offensive against Rafah in the Middle East. As a result, Brent crude fell by 1.12% and is now trading at $88.50 per barrel, while WTI dropped by 1.01% and is currently priced at $83.02 per barrel. Conversely, gold experienced a slight increase of 0.17% and is now valued at $2,351.30 per ounce.
Outlook: We expect the volatility to persist.
