Daily Financial Markets Update

Commentary

System liquidity opened with a surplus of ₦5.23 trillion. The Overnight (O/N) rate rose by 4bps to close at 22.20%, 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 activity largely subdued across the curve. The 22-Apr-2027 bill was the sole mover, easing marginally by 2bps to 15.90%, while the remaining bills held steady. The average benchmark rate closed flat at 16.04%.

Commentary

The FGN bond market traded on a bearish note today, with selling pressure concentrated at the mid-curve. The 17-Apr-2029 bond led the selloff, rising by 39bps to 16.74%, while the 29-Jan-2035 and 25-Jun-2032 bonds also widened by 20bps and 16bps to 16.95% and 16.98% respectively. The average benchmark yield rose by 3bps, closing at 16.11%.

Commentary

The SSA Eurobond market traded on a mixed note today, as investors tracked the ongoing Trump-Xi summit in Beijing, where both leaders agreed that the Strait of Hormuz must remain open, providing some relief to energy market concerns. However, the U.S.-Iran truce described as being on "life support" kept sentiment cautious. Nigeria and Angola yields edged higher by 1bp and 2bps to 7.06% and 8.00% respectively, while Egypt bucked the trend, easing by 1bp to 7.16%.

Commentary

The local bourse closed the day on a slightly negative note as the NGX All-Share Index (ASI) declined 0.10% to settle at 252,243.1 points, bringing the year-to-date return to 62.1%. Sectoral performance closed the day mixed but on a broadly bearish note, as losses across several sectors outweighed gains elsewhere, reflecting a cautious market tone. The Banking sector led the decline with a 0.92% drop, driven by a 7.14% sell-off in WEMA over the day. This was followed by the Consumer Goods sector, which slipped by 0.30% on the back of a 1.06% decrease in NB. The Industrial Goods space also edged lower by 0.03%, weighed down by a 9.83% drop in MEYER, while the Oil and Gas sector posted a modest fall of 0.02% following a 0.65% decline in OANDO. On the positive side, the Insurance sector managed to close higher, advancing by 0.46%, driven by a robust 9.09% rally in WAPIC. Market breadth stood at 1.29x with 36 gainers and 28 losers. Market capitalization declined to ₦161.67 trillion from ₦162.05 trillion. Trading activity closed the day bearish, with turnover value decreased to ₦41.64 billion from ₦109.44 billion while volume traded decreased to 1,039.59 million units from 1,683.09 million units.

Commentary

U.S. market is trading bullish, S&P 500 (+0.85%), Nasdaq (+0.75%), Dow Jones (+1.02%), and Russell (+0.70%) on strong momentum in technology shares and increased retail investor activity. European markets closed bullish. STOXX (+0.71%), DAX (+1.34%), CAC (+0.84%) and FTSE (+0.36%) supported by strong corporate earnings, optimism around AI, positive economic data, and ongoing geopolitical discussions at the Trump–Xi summit. Asian markets closed the day largely bearish, the Shanghai (-1.52%), and Nikkei (-0.98%) on profit-taking and cautious sentiment surrounding the Trump–Xi talks, while Hang Seng (+0.00%) on selective tech gains.