Daily Financial Markets Update

Commentary

System liquidity opened the day with a surplus of ₦5.7 trillion supported by net OMO issuance. The Overnight (O/N) rate declined by 19bps to close at 22.06%, while Open Buy-Back (OBB) rate was unchanged, holding steady at 22.00%.

Commentary

The T-bills market traded on a slightly bearish note today, with sentiment weakened by the outcome of the OMO auction. The CBN offered ₦600bn across the 70 and 140-day tenors, with subscription concentrated at the long end. Stop rates cleared at 19.00% for the 70-day and 19.92% for the 140-day papers, while total allotment exceeded ₦850bn. The 4-Feb-27 bill declined by 12bps, while the 25-Mar-27 rose by 12bps. The average benchmark rate rose by 1bp, closing at 16.15%.

Commentary

The FGN bond market traded on a quiet note with mild bearish sentiment today, as investors continued to adjust positions following yesterday's bond auction. The DMO allotted ₦485.5bn across the 3 offered maturities (2030, 2032 and 2033) with the yield closing at 16%, 16.15% and 16.64% respectively. Thus, the average benchmark yield rose by 3bps, closing at 15.68%.

Commentary

The SSA Eurobond market staged a rebound in today's session, supported by softer U.S. Labor market data. Job openings came in at 6.88 million, down from the prior 7.24 million, broadly in line with consensus expectations of 6.89 million. Against this backdrop, sovereign curves across the region tightened: Nigeria's curve compressed by 6bps to 7.62%, Angola's yields fell 7bps to 9.50%, while Egypt registered a modest 1bp decline to 8.52%.

Commentary

The local bourse closed the day on a positive note, as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 0.4% to settle at 201,287.8 points. Consequently, the year-to-date (YTD) return moderated to 29.35%. Sectoral performance closed broadly positive, with gains recorded in most indices, while a few sectors ended in the red. The Banking sector led the decliners, shedding 1.76%, weighed down by significant sell-offs in NPFMCRFBK (-10.00%). The Insurance sector also recorded a steep decline of 3.64%, pressured by losses in MBENEFIT (-9.91%). Similarly, the Consumer Goods sector dipped by 0.16%, dragged by a sharp drop in MCNICHOLS (-9.53%). On the upside, the Industrial Goods sector advanced by 0.20%, supported by buying interest in WAPCO (+1.43%). The Oil & Gas sector also posted a modest gain of 0.08%, driven by renewed investor interest in ETERNA (+3.41%), reflecting mild strength in the segment. Market breadth stood at 0.41x with 20 gainers and 49 losers. Market capitalization improved to ₦129.21 trillion from ₦128.496 trillion in the previous session. Trading activity closed bullish, with turnover value increasing to ₦35.56 billion from ₦25.57 billion and volume traded surged to 887.683 million units from 589.554 million units.

Commentary

The U.S. is trading bullish. The S&P 500 (+1.41%), Nasdaq Composite (+1.02%), Dow Jones (+1.85%), and Russell (+1.88%) as easing Middle East tensions and a rebound in tech stocks fuelled a relief rally despite ongoing macro concerns. European markets closed the day bullish. The STOXX (+0.43%), FTSE (+0.48%), CAC (+0.57%), and DAX (+0.31%), as easing Iran tensions and de-escalation hopes, alongside supportive inflation data and gains in mining, banking, and tech stocks, boosted investor sentiment despite ongoing geopolitical risks. Asian markets closed the day mixed, as the Nikkei (-1.58%) and Shanghai (-0.80%) declined on Middle East tensions and energy concerns, while the Hang Seng (+0.15%) edged higher on bargain hunting despite fragile sentiment.