*Naira posts mixed outing as official, parallel markets diverge
By Bamidele Famoofo
WorldStage– The Nigerian equities market closed the week on a positive note on Friday, with the NGX All-Share Index gaining 0.26 percent to settle at 250,385.47 points, lifting the year-to-date return to +60.90 percent and adding ₦414.52 billion to market capitalization, which closed at ₦160.51 trillion.
Market breadth was negative at 0.85x, as 34 decliners led by Austinlaz, Prempaints,
Cap, Livingtrust, and Johnholt outpaced 29 advancers, with Sovrenins, Zichis, Intenegins, Mcnichols, and
ARADEL recording the most notable gains.
Sectoral performance was mixed, as Oil & Gas (+4.53%), Commodity (+3.12%),
and Insurance (+2.30%) all finished in positive territory, while Banking (-0.69%), Consumer Goods (-0.49%), and Industrial
(-0.05%) weighed on the index. Trading activity strengthened considerably across the board, with volume, turnover, and
deal count surging 113.57 percent, 59.55 percent, and 42.58 percent to 1.2 billion shares, ₦43.43 billion, and 93,626 transactions respectively.
Heading into Monday’s session, the market is expected to sustain its bullish tone, underpinned by continued investor
confidence and strategic portfolio readjustment.
In the money market, the Nigerian Interbank Offered Rates closed on a mixed note on Friday, with the overnight rate edging up 1bp to 22.25 percent, reflecting tightening system liquidity. The 1-month, 3-month, and 6-month tenors moved in the opposite direction, however, retreating 7bps, 32bps, and 57bps respectively. Funding costs held steady, with both the Overnight rate and
Open Repo rate remaining unchanged at 22.19 percent and 22.00 percent respectively.
In the Treasury Bills secondary market, yields were similarly mixed, with the 6-month and 12-month bills declining 8bps
and 2bps respectively, while the 3-month tenor advanced 11bps and the 1-month tenor closed largely flat. Overall, the
average NT-Bills yield eased 2bps to 17.51%, reflecting increased investor demand and a broadly positive tone across the fixed-income space.
The FGN Bonds market turned bearish on Friday, with average yields climbing 6bps to 16.32 percent, signaling weakening
domestic investor confidence and a subdued appetite for naira-denominated sovereign debt.
The Eurobond market told a contrasting story, however, as average yields retreated 11bps to 6.78 percent, reflecting
strengthening global investor interest and a broadly favorable outlook toward Nigeria’s dollar-denominated sovereign
obligations.
The naira posted a mixed performance on Friday, appreciating 0.16 percent to ₦1,373.25/$ at the NAFEM window while weakening 0.15 percent to ₦1,372/$ in the parallel market, reflecting divergent currency dynamics between the official and informal foreign exchange segments.
