FIXED INCOME MARKETS
MONEY MARKETS
System liquidity remained in deficit today at -₦212.99 billion, lower than the -₦90.43 billion reported last week Friday. As a result, the Open Repo Rate (OPR) increased by 43 bps to 30.38%, while the Overnight Rate (O/N) rose by 44 bps to 31.09%.
Outlook: We expect interbank rates to stay elevated in the interim.
Treasury Bills
The treasury bills market had a quiet trading session today, with minimal activity observed for the longer-dated papers. Due to the increase in yields for several papers, the market closed on a bearish note, with the average mid-rate rising by 44 bps to 20.36%.
Outlook: We expect a similar trend tomorrow.
FGN Bonds
The local FGN bonds market had a relatively quiet session, with most activity revolving around the 2033 paper, albeit with less intensity. By the end of the session, the market settled slightly bearish, as the mid-yield increased by 1 bps to 18.56%.
Outlook: We expect a quiet session tomorrow.
Equities
The Nigerian stock market closed bullish today, as All-Share Index appreciated by 0.58% to settle at 99,793.71 points. Year-to-date return and market capitalization settled at 33.46% and ₦56.45 trillion. The market breadth showed a ratio of 3.00x (30 advancers to 10 decliners).
The key bullish movers were TOTAL (+9.98%), ACCESSCORP (+9.86%), FIDELITYBK (+6.52%), UBA (+2.86%) and NB (+2.38%), while WAPCO (-2.22%), and FCMB (-0.63%) closed bearish.
Consequently, trading activity improved today, with a 148.33% increase in total volume traded and 83.55% increase in total value traded.
All sectorial indices closed bullish except industrial index which lost 0.08%. The Banking, Consumer Goods and Oil & Gas Indices gained 2.71%, 0.31%, and 3.13%, respectively. FIDELITYBK led both the volume charts with 605.26 million units and value chart with ₦6.03 billion.
Outlook: We expect tomorrow’s session to stay mixed.
Foreign Exchange
FMDQ’s Nigeria’s Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) appreciated by ₦0.37 (or 0.02%) to $/₦1,483.62 compared to $/₦1,483.99 recorded last week Friday.
Outlook: We expect volatility to persist.
Eurobonds
The African Eurobonds market posted a bearish sentiment today, suggesting market expectation for a stickier US inflation data. As of print time, consensus estimate stood at 3.40% and 0.30% for yearly and monthly CPI, respectively. Consequently, market closed bearish, as the average mid-yield increased by 9bps to 9.86%.
Outlook: We expect market to trade on cautious note tomorrow, with likelihood of closing bearish ahead of critical data.
Commodities
Crude oil prices increased today after a significant decline at the close of last week on Friday. Brent crude rose by 1.91% to $81.14 per barrel, while WTI increased by 2.17% to $77.17 per barrel. Additionally, Gold regained some ground today following its biggest daily drop in three-and-a-half years in the last session, as investors awaited US inflation data and the Federal Reserve’s decision on interest rates this week. Gold prices fell by 0.08% to $2,323.30 per ounce at the time of writing.
Outlook: We expect the volatility to persist.
