Daily Financial Markets Update

Commentary

System liquidity opened the week with a surplus of ₦4.97 trillion. The Overnight (O/N) rate declined by 16bps to close at 22.19%, while Open Buy-Back (OBB) rate was unchanged, holding steady at 22.00%.

Commentary

The T-bills market traded on a quiet note today, with minimal price movement observed on the 8-Apr-2027 bill which edged lower by 4bps to 15.80%. Consequently, average benchmark rate closed flat at 15.97%.

Commentary

The FGN bond market traded on a quiet note today, with activity largely subdued across the curve. The 20-Mar-2027 bond was the sole mover, easing by 9bps to 17.83%, while all other bonds remained unchanged. The average benchmark yield closed flat at 15.89%.

Commentary

The Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) Eurobond market commenced the week on a bearish footing, pressured by intensifying geopolitical risks in the Middle East. Heightened Iran-related conflict concerns weighed on investor sentiment, amplifying risk-off positioning. This cautious tone was further compounded by the weaker U.S. CPI print, which added to the negative momentum across the curve. On this backdrop, SSA sovereign yields moved higher across the curve: Nigeria's Eurobond yields rose by 2bps to 7.38%, Angola increased by 4bps to 8.61%, while Egypt recorded the sharpest adjustment, rising by 9bps to 7.52%.

Commentary

The local bourse opened the week on a positive note, as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 0.35% to settle at 204,479.14 points, while YTD return came in at 31.41%. Sectoral performance opened the week on a mildly bullish note. The Consumer Goods sector led the gain with an increase of 1.96%, led by Mcnichols which rose 9.74%. Insurance sector also recorded a positive performance, gaining 1.04%, supported by appreciation in MBENEFIT which rose by 7.25%. Similarly, the Banking sector advanced by 0.11%, buoyed by gains in Stanbic which climbed 6.52%. Conversely, the Oil and Gas sector closed in negative territory, declining by 0.1%, weighed down by losses in OANDO which fell by 2.15%. Also, the Industrial sector also declined by 0.02%, led by BERGER which fell by 9.95%. Market breadth stood at 1.39x with 32 gainers and 23 losers. Market capitalization improved to ₦131.621 trillion from ₦131.166 trillion. Trading activity closed the day mixed, with turnover value increasing to ₦32.02 billion from ₦31.46 billion while volume traded declined to 464.113 million units from 548.601 million units.

Commentary

The U.S. market is trading mixed. The S&P 500 (+0.09%), Nasdaq (+0.36%), Russell (+0.24%) all rise, and Dow Jones declined (-0.50%) due to resilience in tech stocks even as rising oil prices and U.S.–Iran tensions pressured broader market sentiment. European markets opened the week in the red, as the STOXX 600 (-0.15%), FTSE 100 (-0.17%), DAX (-0.28%), and CAC 40 (-0.33%) fell due to rising geopolitical tensions (U.S.–Iran conflict fears) and expectations of tighter monetary policy from the European Central Bank. Asian markets opened the week mixed, with the Hang Seng (-0.9%), Shanghai (+0.06%), and Nikkei (-0.74%) on escalating Middle East tensions and the U.S. blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, which triggered a sharp rise in oil prices and global risk aversion.