RFA Breakfast Paper - November 4, 2026
Tinubu Seeks ₦10.79trn External Borrowing
President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday asked the Senate to approve ₦10.79trn (about $7.7bn) of external borrowing to fund part of the 2026 budget, whose ₦31.4trn deficit is to be financed with ₦29.2trn of new debt, including ₦18.4trn raised domestically. The request supersedes an earlier $20.3bn letter and gives greater weight to Eurobond issuance, citing faster execution and larger amounts, alongside multilateral, bilateral and IMF funding. Proceeds would be booked at the budget rate of ₦1,409/$ and received by the CBN, supporting external reserves. Public debt already stood at ₦166.79trn at end-June, up from ₦159.35trn in March. For investors, a likely new Eurobond adds supply that could weigh on existing Nigerian dollar bonds such as the 2034s, while the inflows would bolster reserves and the naira. The Senate debt committee's review and market conditions will set the timing.
Democratic Sweep Lifts S&P 500 by 1.58%
The S&P 500 rose 1.58% to 7,688.62 on Wednesday, its best day in three months, and the Nasdaq gained 1.44% to 25,736.51 after Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress. The Dow jumped 3.03% and gainers outnumbered decliners about three to one. Brent fell 8.67% on bets of pressure to end the Iran war, sinking energy shares 4.74%, while chipmakers slid on data-centre regulation fears. The 10-year Treasury yield fell 5bps to 4.90% even as ADP payrolls beat forecasts at 86,000.
Bank Rally Lifts NGX ASI 0.19% Higher
The NGX All-Share Index rose 0.19% to 254,762.81 on Wednesday, extending Tuesday's rebound, as buying in Transcorp Power and tier-one banks lifted market capitalisation by ₦307.4bn to ₦165.42trn. Transcorp Power gained 9.97% to ₦203.00, Zenith Bank 2.65% to ₦120.00 and UBA 2.68% to ₦42.10, driving the Banking Index up 0.72%, while Eterna fell 9.94% to ₦38.50. Breadth was positive at 27 gainers to 23 losers and value traded rose 65.66% to ₦37.46bn, led by First HoldCo at ₦12.67bn, though insurance stocks fell 0.54%. The index is up 63.72% year to date, and firmer bank participation supports the near-term trend.
