Nigeria’s 10-year bond yield fell to its lowest in six months on Wednesday as stocks dropped after incumbent Muhammadu Buhari was reported to have won re-election as leader of Africa’s biggest economy for another four years.
The electoral commission chairman said Buhari took 56 percent of votes against 41 for his main rival, businessman and former vice president Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), to secure victory in the election held last Saturday.
But Atiku rejected the result and vowed to challenge it in court.
The benchmark 2028 bond yield dropped to 14.3 percent, its lowest since August, from 14.5 percent the previous day. It was quoted at 14.75 percent a day before Saturday’s vote.
Yields on government bonds have been falling since December as investors bought debt. Traders said they had seen some buying from offshore funds on Wednesday.
The country’s dollar-denominated bond traded offshore rose as much as 0.8 cents in the dollar to extend a more than 10 cents rally since the start of the year.
Stocks on the other hand fell to a one-week low in early trades. The stock index which opened up 0.12 percent turned red to fall 0.18 percent, its lowest in one-week, on low volumes after mixed trading in the past week due to the election.
Analysts had predicted a stock market rally this year if the elections passed without violence or other problems. Shares gained on Monday.
Reuters
