Daily Financial Markets Update

Commentary

System liquidity opened with a surplus of ₦6.62trn. The Overnight (O/N) rate and Open Buy-Back (OBB) remained unchanged closing at 22.00% and 22.31% respectively.

Commentary

The T-bills market maintained a bullish tone as investors sought to cover unmet demand from the recent auction. Total subscription reached ₦2.95 trillion across the three standard maturities, while the DMO allotted ₦731.37 billion, representing a bid-to-cover ratio of 4.03x. Notably, the 364-day tenor cleared at 16.199%, marking a 23bps decline from the previous stop rate. The curve remained broadly stable across maturities, with the average benchmark rate easing by 11bps to close at 15.97%.

Commentary

The FGN bond market traded on a bullish note today, with demand concentrated at the mid-curve. The 21-Feb-2034 and 15-May-2033 bonds led gains, declining by 31bps and 29bps to 16.21% and 16.39% respectively, while the 20-Mar-2027 bill tightened by 7bps to 17.90%. The average benchmark yield declined by 2bps, closing at 15.90%.

Commentary

The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Eurobond market softened, driven largely by profit-taking following the prior session's gains. Sentiment weakened further after the U.S. Q4 2025 GDP was revised downward to 0.5% from 0.75%, alongside a 0.4% uptick in PCE inflation, adding to investor caution. Consequently, sovereign yields across the region widened: Nigeria's average yield increased by 7bps to 7.45%, Angola's rose by 5bps to 8.74%, and Egypt's expanded by 8bps to 7.67%.

Commentary

The local bourse closed the day on a positive note, as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 0.28% to settle at 203,161.8 points, while YTD return moderated to 30.56%. Sectoral performance closed on a bullish note, reflecting widespread buying interest across key indices. The Banking sector led the gainers, advancing by 1.12%, driven by sustained buying interest in UBA and Zenith Bank, which appreciated by 2.86% and 2.75% respectively. The Consumer Goods sector also advanced by 0.88%, led by a solid gain in NESTLE, which improved by 6.36%. Similarly, the Insurance sector posted a gain of 0.67%, supported by upward momentum in INTENEGINS, which rose by 9.84%. The Industrial Goods sector recorded a marginal gain of 0.18%, driven by buying interest in Cutix, which rose by 1.94%. Likewise, the Oil and Gas sector gained 0.43%, supported by price appreciation in Aradel, which increased by 1.11%. Market breadth stood at 0.68x with 29 gainers and 31 losers. Market capitalization improved slightly to ₦130.773 trillion from ₦130.404 trillion. Trading activity closed the day bearish, with turnover value decreasing to ₦39.82 billion from ₦40.57 billion while volume traded declined to 652.86 million units from 1,007 million units.

Commentary

The U.S. market is trading on a bullish momentum. The S&P 500 (+0.41%), Nasdaq (+0.56%), Dow Jones (+0.32%) and Russell (+0.26%) as gains in energy, utilities, and consumer stocks offset tech-sector losses amid Middle East uncertainty. European markets traded on a bearish note, the CAC 40 (-0.22%), FTSE 100 (-0.05%), STOXX (-0.39%), and DAX (-1.35%) fell as escalating tensions between the United States and Iran threatened the ceasefire, drove up oil prices, and pressured inflation-sensitive, industrial, and rate-sensitive sectors. Asian markets declined broadly, as the Shanghai Composite (-0.72%), Hang Seng Index (-0.54%), and Nikkei 225 Index (-0.73%) due to rising oil prices and geopolitical tensions tied to uncertainty over the Iran–US/Israel ceasefire and disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz.