Daily Financial Markets Update

Commentary

System liquidity opened with a surplus of ₦3.95 trillion. The Overnight (O/N) rate declined by 4bps to close at 22.25%, 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 the 18-Feb-2027 bill declining by 18bps to 16.00% as the sole mover. The DMO conducted an NTB auction with a total offer of ₦750bn, allotting ₦894.16bn across all tenors. The 364-day bill was the most sought after, with a stop rate of 16.199%. The average benchmark rate declined by 1bp, closing at 15.98%.

Commentary

The FGN bond market traded on a slightly bearish note today, with selling pressure concentrated at the mid-curve. The 25-Jun-2032 and 15-May-2033 bonds led the move, rising by 14bps and 10bps to 16.70% and 16.72% respectively. The average benchmark yield rose by 1bp, closing at 15.93%.

Commentary

The SSA Eurobond market traded on a mixed note today, as investors navigated lingering geopolitical uncertainty surrounding the U.S.-Iran standoff. Angola edged higher by 1bp to 8.34% and Egypt saw the sharpest move, rising by 10bps to 7.35%. Nigeria bucked the trend, with yields declining by 2bps to 7.23%.

Commentary

The local bourse closed the day on a positive note, as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) gained 0.61% to settle at 219,586.9 points, while YTD return came in at 41.11%. Sectoral performance closed the day on a bullish note, reflecting cautious but sustained buying interest across the broader market. The Banking sector led the advance, improving by 2.03% on the back of strong accumulation of 5.98% in UBA. The Consumer Goods followed suit, rising by 1.78% bolstered by a 10.00% surge in VITAFOAM. While the Insurance sector gained 1.07%, after a 9.52% rally in SOVRENINS. Elsewhere, the Industrial Goods space appreciated by 0.15% following a maximum daily gain of 10.00% in CAP. While the Oil and Gas sector edged marginally higher by 0.02%, buoyed by a slight uptick in JAPAULGOLD with an increase of 2.24%. Market breadth stood at 1.1x with 31 gainers and 28 losers. Market capitalization improved slightly to ₦141.384 trillion from ₦140.523 trillion. Trading activity closed the day bearish, with turnover value decreased to ₦36.167 billion from ₦44.862 billion while volume traded decreased to 683.684 million units from 842.476 million units.

Commentary

The U.S. is trading higher, with the Dow Jones (+0.63%), S&P 500 (+0.81%), Nasdaq (+1.29%) and Russell (+0.49%) on relief from the extension of the U.S.–Iran ceasefire and strong corporate earnings, which improved risk sentiment despite lingering geopolitical and inflation concerns. European markets closed bearish, with the STOXX (-0.35%), CAC (-0.96%), DAX (-0.31%), and FTSE (-0.21%) as persistent geopolitical uncertainty, inflation concerns, and weak corporate results weighed on overall investor sentiment. Asian markets closed mixed, with the Nikkei (+0.4%) and Shanghai (+0.52%) on tech-led buying and China's resilience to Middle East risks, while the Hang Seng (-1.22%) as U.S.–Iran uncertainty, rising oil prices, and selling pressure in major tech and EV stocks weighed on sentiment.