System Liquidity

System liquidity opened with a surplus of ₦2.24 trillion, boosted mainly by a ₦1.03 trillion OMO maturity and increased placements at the CBN’s SDF window, though partially offset by SLF borrowings. Average funding costs rose slightly to 22.90%, with the OPR stable at 22.60% and the OVN rate increasing to 23.20%.

Treasury Bills

The NTB secondary market was quiet with minimal activity across all maturities, keeping rates unchanged. Market participants largely stayed on the sidelines, resulting in flat average benchmark rates at 16.72%.

FGN Bonds

The FGN bond market traded calmly to mildly bearish, with selling pressure concentrated at the mid to long end of the curve. Short end yields were mostly stable, while several mid and long tenor bonds experienced yield expansion due to weakened sentiment. Average benchmark yield settled higher by 2bps at 16.31%.

Eurobonds

African Eurobonds traded positively as strong buying interest offset global risk off sentiment, pushing yields lower across the Nigerian curve. Yield declines were notable across short-, mid-, and long tenor maturities, bringing the average benchmark yield down to 7.01%.

Nigerian Equities

The All-Share Index gained 31bps due to price appreciation in DANGCEM, GTCO and ZENITHBANK which pushed YTD return up by 6.61% while overall market capitalization closed at N21.55tn. Market breadth was positive as gainers outnumbered losers, with UNIONDICON, ZICHIS, IMG and AUSTINLAZ adding 10% apiece followed by CUTIX and OMATEK which shed 10%. GTCO was the most traded stock by volume and value and market turnover also increased with total traded value rising 32.55% to ₦17.59 billion.

Foreign Exchange

The Naira strengthened by 125bps to close at ₦1,372.91/$, supported by inflows from foreign portfolio investors and local participants. Trading occurred within a band of ₦1,360.00/$ to ₦1,387.00/$, while external reserves rose to $46.59 billion.

Commodities

Oil prices rose following a sharp prior day decline, with Brent crude climbing 2.68% to $67.91 per barrel and WTI gaining 3.12% to around $63.84. Gold prices also surged, with spot gold reaching $4,906.41/oz and U.S. gold futures rising to $4,975.95/oz amid heightened demand for tokenized gold.