Daily Financial Markets Update

Commentary

System liquidity opened with a surplus of ₦5.87 trillion. The Overnight (O/N) rate rose by 6bps to close at 22.29%, while Open Buy-Back (OBB) rate was unchanged, holding steady at 22.00%.

Commentary

The T-bills market traded on a bearish note today as market participants repriced ahead to today's OMO auction. The CBN conducted an OMO auction, with the 140-day bill heavily oversubscribed at ₦1.25trn, allotted at a stop rate of 19.91%. The average benchmark rate rose by 2bps, closing at 15.99%.

Commentary

The FGN bond market traded on a quiet note today, with minimal activity across the curve. The 20-Mar-2027 bond edged higher by 7bps to 17.88%, while the 25-Jun-2032 bond eased by 7bps to 16.56%. The average benchmark yield closed flat at 15.92%.

Commentary

The SSA Eurobond market traded on a bearish note today, as persistent geopolitical tensions surrounding the U.S.-Iran standoff and broader global trade uncertainty weighed on risk sentiment. Sovereign yields widened across the region, with Nigeria edging higher by 2bps to 7.25%. Angola rising by 5bps to 8.33%, while Egypt edged up marginally by 1bp to 7.25%.

Commentary

The local bourse closed the day on a positive note, as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 0.06% to settle at 218,256.6 points, while YTD return came in at 40.26%. Sectoral performance closed the day on a mixed note, with a slight positive bias as gains in some key indices were offset by losses in others, reflecting cautious buying interest across the market. The Banking sector emerged as the laggard, declining by 1.3%, pressured by significant sell-offs in STANBIC, which dropped by 8.96%. The Oil and Gas sector also recorded a marginal loss of 0.09%, driven by a decline in JAYPAULGOLD, which fell by 6.29%. On the positive side, the Industrial Goods sector posted gains of 1.64%, supported by WAPCO, which appreciated by 9.64% marking its second gain for the week. Meanwhile, the Consumer Goods sector closed lower by 0.44% following a 3.1% decline in INTBREW, while the Insurance sector recorded a slight gain of 0.19%, buoyed by a 4.68% increase in NEM. Market breadth stood at 0.58x with 25 gainers and 43 losers. Market capitalization improved slightly to ₦140.523 trillion from ₦140.202 trillion. Trading activity closed the day bullish, with turnover value increased to ₦44.862 billion from ₦36.70 billion while volume traded increased to 842.476 million units from 677.133 million units.

Commentary

The U.S. market is trading bearish, with the Russell (-0.42%), S&P (-0.24%), Nasdaq (-0.14%), and Dow Jones (-0.10%) pressured by a sharp rise in oil prices amid renewed U.S.–Iran ceasefire uncertainty, which weighed on investor sentiment despite earlier support from strong earnings and retail sales data. European markets closed broadly lower, with the STOXX(-0.79%), CAC (-1.14%), DAX(-0.50%), and FTSE(-1.05%) as uncertainty over U.S.–Iran talks, Strait of Hormuz disruptions, and rising oil prices weighed on investor sentiment across the region. Asian markets closed the day bullish, with the Nikkei (+0.89%), Hang Seng (+0.48%) and Shanghai (+0.07%) as optimism over AI-driven growth, supportive corporate earnings, and accommodative Chinese monetary policy collectively boosted investor confidence across the region.