FIXED INCOME MARKETS
Money Market
The Open Repo Rate (OPR) decreased by 42 bps to 25.63%, and the Overnight Rate (O/N) decreased by 55 bps to 26.05% due to the increase in opening system liquidity today.
Outlook: We expect interbank rates to stay at similar levels tomorrow
Treasury Bills
The treasury bill market concluded on a positive note today, with unmet bids from the previous day’s auction filtered into the market. This led to a 64-basis point decrease in the average mid-rate for the benchmark NTB papers, bringing it down to 19.94%.
Outlook: We expect the bullish sentiment to persist tomorrow.
FGN Bonds
Today, the local FGN bonds market also showed a positive trend. There was significant activity around the 2033 and 2053 papers. Overall, the market settled bullish, with the average mid-yield decreasing by 17 bps to 19.17%.
Outlook: We expect the bullish sentiment to spill into tomorrow’s trading session.
Equities
The Nigerian stock market closed bearish today, with the All-Share Index falling by 0.12% to reach 95,718.05 points. The year-to-date return and market capitalization settled at 28.01% and ₦54.98 trillion, respectively. UNIVINSURE led the volume charts with 68.19 million, while OANDO led the value charts with ₦1.29 billion.
Outlook: We expect the current sentiment to resurface tomorrow.
Foreign Exchange
Naira depreciated against the USD by 2.74% to $/₦1,586.11.
Outlook: We expect volatility to persist.
Eurobonds
The African Eurobonds market began today’s session with a mixed performance, but closed bearish at the end of the day. The US S&P flash PMI showed mixed results, with manufacturing PMI decreasing and services PMI increasing.. Overall, the average mid-yield for Nigerian papers increased by 1 bp to 9.93%.
Outlook: We expect attention to be tilted towards Jerome Powell’s speech at the Jackson Hole retreat.
Commodities
Today saw a rise in crude oil prices, which had previously erased most of their yearly gains, due to weakened demand in China and concerns about the U.S. economy. Brent prices increased by 1.72% to reach $77.36, while WTI prices rose by 1.75% to $73.19. Meanwhile, gold prices fell by 1.13% to $2,518.70 per ounce.
Outlook: We expect the volatility to persist.
