The Nigerian equities market closed on a strong positive note, with the benchmark index advancing by 2.33%, pushing the year-to-date return to an impressive60.97%.
Market activity kicked off the week on a bullish note, as trading volume surged by33.58% to 1.50 billion shares. However, total value traded edged higher by27.67% to ₦70.35 billion, reflecting sustained buying interest across the market.
Market breadth remained firmly positive, with 64 gainers against 24 decliners, reflecting resilient bullish sentiment across several counters.
On the sectoral front, the banking sector dominated trading activity, recording the highest volume and value of trades, and emerged as the top-performing sector, posting a strong daily gain of 4.67%. Meanwhile, the oil and gas sector continued to maintain the strongest year-to-date performance, delivering an impressive return of 117.57%.
On the performance chart, CHAMS and FTNCOCOA led the gainers’ table, while PRESTIGE topped the laggards’ list, followed by SOVRENINS.
On the corporate front, several companies announced upcoming Annual General Meetings (AGMs).
Fixed Income Market
Banking system liquidity improved today, closing at ₦4.35 trillion net negative with a fall of 16.70%. This liquidity drop pushed the Overnight (O/N) rate 2bps higher to 22.21% from 22.19%. Meanwhile, both the Nigerian Overnight Financing Rate (NOFR) and the Open Repo Rate remained unchanged.
Meanwhile, trading activity in the FGN bond market was largely muted. However, average yield dipped 1bp to 16.09% (from 16.10%). This was supported by improved investor sentiment at the short end of the curve as yields fell by 3bps. The mid and long ends of the curve remained relatively muted.
Furthermore, trading activity improved slightly across the Nigerian Treasury Bills, as pressure eased on average yields by 2.3bps at 17.44% from 17.46%.
Nigeria’s Eurobonds continued its bearish turn, pushing average yields 1.4bp higher to 6.73% (from 6.71%). The pressure in bonds rose as oil prices rose by approximately 3%, increasing trade friction along the Strait of Hormuz
Currency Market
Today, the naira depreciated slightly against the dollar at the NAFEM window, with USD/NGN declining by 0.1% to close at ₦1,395.00.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s external reserves saw a slight increase to close at $48.36 billion as of May 8 after a steady decline since April 30.
In the commodities market, Brent crude price jumped by 2.9% to settle at $104.18 per barrel. This marks a return to higher prices amid Trump’s rejection of Iran’s proposal and rising geopolitical tensions in the Middle East.
