The Treasury bills market traded slightly bearish on Wednesday with yields up by 30 basis points on the average.

This development, analysts at Vetiva Capital Management Limited, said, was a reaction to the Monetary Policy Committee decision to raise the Monetary Policy Rate.

The most significant yield changes were recorded on the longer end of the space as yields on the 267 days to maturity, 281DTM, and 323DTM bills rose to 19.04 per cent, 20.35 per cent, and 19.68 per cent respectively.

The bond market however traded largely mixed with yields up by an average of six basis points. While sell pressure was evident on the 9.35 per cent Federal Government of Nigeria August 2017 bond with yield up by 33bps to close at 19.57 per cent, modest demand was observed on the 12.50 per cent FGN Januray 2026 bond as its yield declined by 14bps to 15.26 per cent.

“Amid weak market sentiment (following the rate hike), we expect the bearish trading pattern to persist in today’s session,” the analysts said.

After bouncing off a six-day losing streak in the last trading session, the Nigerian equity market maintained positive momentum, adding 93bps on the back of sustained gains in some key sectors.

The Nigerian Stock Exchange market capitalisation rose to N9.687tn from N9.597tn, while the All-Share Index closed at 28,205.62 basis points from 27,945.02 basis points.

A total of 488.899 million shares worth N4.827bn exchanged hands in 4,713 deals.

The market recorded 24 gains with Okomu Oil Palm Plc, MRS Plc, Axa Manasard Insurance Plc, Dangote Flour Plc and Unilever Nigeria Plc emerging as the top five gainers.

On the global front, European markets closed higher amidst some upbeat earnings releases and a better-than-expected United Kingdom second quarter Gross Domestic Product report (output grew by 0.6 per cent, ahead of consensus 0.4 per cent).