Author: Julius Alagbe

Liquidity: Nigerian Banks Trim Investment in Nigerian Bills The average yield on Nigerian Treasury bills climbed by 24 basis points as flexible market dynamics, and liquidity pressure in the financial system triggered naira asset selloffs. In the secondary market, sell side actors remained active on Thursday, with profit taking activities witnessed across the short, belly, and long ends of the curve. Some fixed income experts told MarketForces Africa the sustained selloffs were a result of a tight liquidity level in the financial system. The funding system has remained tight, and banks that have investment securities were noted to be major…

Interbank Rates Rise as Banks Borrow to Close Funding Gap The short-term interest rates climbed further in the money market due to sustained liquidity pressure in the financial system. While there have been outflows relating to auctions by the apex bank, the inflows from maturing instruments have been limited. The system has seen huge amounts taken out for FX auctions, Nigerian Treasury bills sales to investors who are somewhat local deposit money banks that invest in short term securities, and other related system outflows that kept liquidity balance in negative for a long while. A number of authorised dealer deposit…

Coca-Cola to Invest $1 Billion in Nigeria The Coca-Cola System in Nigeria, comprised of Coca-Cola Nigeria Limited and its authorized bottler, Nigeria Bottling Company (NBC), announced plans to expand its investments in Nigeria. In a statement, the company said over the next five years, with a predictable and enabling environment in place, the System plans to accelerate its investments in Nigeria to reach US$ 1 billion. The investment builds on the System’s long-standing involvement in Nigerian communities. Over the last 10 years, Coca-Cola Hellenic Bottling Company, known locally as Nigerian Bottling Company, has invested $1.5 billion in Nigeria. With today’s…

Naira Falls to N1,544 as Huge FX Gap Stirs Currency Speculation The Nigerian naira fell by 28 basis points against the US dollar in the foreign exchange (FX) market on Thursday due to demand pressure. Analysts said exchange rate woes would persist until there is a clear cut policy direction to defend the local currency against the dominant foreign currencies. Nigeria’s FX liquidity challenge has continued to keep the exchange rate at the edge while the naira purchasing power strengthening is at the mercy of the CBN auction. The exchange rate had improved by more than 7% after the Central…

Investors Lose N105bn as Equities Market Backflip Investors lost about N105 billion as the equities market segment of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) backflip after gaining streaks spanning four trading sessions. The market was booming with investors taking positions in banking, consumer, and oil and gas indexes amidst declining spot rates in the fixed income market. Key performance indicators declined by 0.19% as investors began to take profit on stocks that had rallied. The market index or the All-Share Index dipped by 181.88 basis points to close at 98,049.04 points, data obtained from the Nigerian Exchange showed. The local market halted…

Nigeria’s Eurobond Yield Climbs as Markets Expect Rate Competition Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobond yield climbed in the international market as foreign investors began to weigh the impacts of the US Fed rate cut on their respective portfolio returns. In the coming months, foreign investors could begin to raise bets on African Eurobond assets and local bonds with competitive returns on the back of the dovish position on Fed fund rates down the year. The US Federal Reserve hacked rate by 50 basis points, first time since 2020 – signaling a move away from its hawkish monetary policy stance, bring fed fund…

FBN Holdings Keeps Uptrend Ahead of ‘Offer’ Pricing FBN Holdings (FBNH) Plc has continued to recover from the selling spree that plunged the banking group’s stock market price down by more than 50% to its 52 week high. The share price of the elephant branded group warehousing First Bank of Nigeria Limited spiked further in the equities market to N33.90, according to data obtained from the Nigerian Exchange. In two trading sessions, FBN Holdings Plc has gained about 17%, up from N29 per share to N33.90. The latest price movement has nudged market valuation of FBN holdings to N1.216 trillion.…

Oil Prices Dip on US Crude Stock Build, Fed Rate Cut Oil prices fell as data indicate an unexpected increase in crude inventories in the US, the world’s biggest oil consumer.  The bearish session in the global commodities market was supported by a 50 basis point rate cut by the US Federal Reserves. Analysts see energy cost pressure easing gradually as the Fed slashed rate on Wednesday, the first easing cycle since 2022.  Brent crude decreased to $73.28 per barrel. US benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) declined 0.61% to $69.53 per barrel after closing at $69.96 in the prior session.…

Geregu Power Sets for Fresh Uptrend, Hits All-Time High Geregu Power Plc has set a fresh record, breached resistance to a new all-time high on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) platform as investors’ eye utilities stock. Its share price has gained 15% in two trading sessions, up from N1,000 to N1,150 as investors traded huge volumes of shares on the NGX platform. The power generating company share had stopped moving even after its impressive earnings outing in the first half of 2024. Share price of Geregu Power Plc had settled at N1,000 for months, the best it had reached since it…

Fidson, Chinese Firms to Build Pharmaceutical Plant in Lagos Fidson Healthcare Plc has signed a Strategic Cooperation Memorandum with Jiangsu Aidea Pharma, Nanjing PharmaBlock, and the China-Africa Development Fund in Beijing, China, to build a pharma plan in Nigeria. In an official statement, the healthcare company said the signing ceremony took place during a visit by a team from Nigeria led by Dr. Fidelis Ayebae, the founder and Managing Director of Fidson Healthcare Plc. Fidson said the 4 (four) parties have agreed to actively leverage their respective strengths to establish a new joint venture pharmaceutical plant project in Nigeria. This…