Economy
How to Begin Stock Market Trading
By Dipo Olowookere
Many times, I have been asked to explain how the stock market works and the steps needed to begin investment in that critical sector of the economy.
This article is mainly to give those interested in joining the stock market the key things they need to know before jumping on the train.
It is important to state that the stock market is highly volatile and not for those not willing to take ‘calculated risks.’
Before I continue, we need to understand what the stock market is.
The stock or equity market is a place or platform set aside for the exchange of stocks of companies admitted to trade their securities to investors.
Now, before you begin to trade stocks on the exchange, you need to acquaint yourself with the terms used. You can check this article for assistance Understanding Terms Used in Stock Market (Part 1).
To the subject matter, I will try to make things very simple as I can, though I am not a very good teacher, I must admit.
Before you jump on the train, you need to ask yourself these important questions, why do I want to invest in the stock market. Am I investing as a trader, long term investor or medium?
When you find answers to these questions, you can then look for the company that fits into your investment tenor.
Let me quickly explain the terms I just used above; trader, long term and medium-term investors.
Traders at the stock market are mainly those interested in buying stocks when they are cheap and sell immediately they hit their target price, mostly within the shortest possible time say a week or less or slightly more.
For the long-term investors, they buy stocks for the future purpose and are not after any immediate gains. These people have investment plan of 5 years or more, while those in the medium-term category invest for dividend, price appreciation, say within 3 month, 6 months or a year.
So, when you consider which of the three categories you want, you can then study the stocks that can perfectly fit and then invest.
Now on the stock buy, you have to read a lot about the performances of the companies listed on the exchange and study their trends and price movements, checking the 52-week lows and highs so as to know when to buy and sell.
In Nigeria, the banking stocks, most especially the tier-one, are good because they have good price appreciation and dividend payout.
Another thing you must also consider is the amount you’ve earmarked to invest in stocks. This will help you determine the stocks to buy.
The good thing is you don’t have to have millions or hundreds of thousands to begin stock market trading. You can have as low as N10,000 to begin with. What this means is that your amount will determine the number of units of the stock you can acquire at that particular time. If you have like N10,000 and you are interested in buying a stock selling at N50 per unit, you will only be able to get 200 units minus the brokerage fee.
This takes me to the next thing you must consider before joining the stock market; getting a good stockbroker.
You need a stockbroker, who is a professional authorised to help investors or clients buy and sell shares at the stock market.
There are several authorised stockbrokers in Nigeria. Some of them even have trading platforms where you can trade yourself. Some of them offer free trading and investment tips, suggesting which stocks you can buy, sell or hold.
However, before you choose a broker, you need to select those who charge lower brokerage fee. This is the amount they charge clients for executing your order. You pay this fee whenever you are using them to buy or sell your stocks.
Most times, they will require you to register with them and fund your account by paying to a bank account. They will help you with the creation of an account with the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), which is like a database of all investors at the stock market.
When you buy shares through a stockbroker, your account will be credited with the volume of shares purchased and when they are sold, the number of stocks offloaded by you would be subtracted from your account. Let me just put it in a simple term, the CSCS is like your bank account.
After all these, it is important to try demo trading before the real thing. This will give you an idea of how the market works. You can use this opportunity to see if you understand stock market trading. In most cases, these demo trading platforms give you a virtual money to trade with. They make it look real, with the brokerage charges deducted.
I must confess to you, investing in stock market is fun and you need to experience it. However, like they say in a stock market group I belong to, be ready to ‘pay school fees’ to the Nigerian Stock Exchange. This simply means you must be prepared to lose some money in the stock market, but this must not discourage you because before a child starts to walk and run, he must first crawl and fall. We all have paid and are sometimes still paying.
Before I stop for now to take your questions, you must understand that there are some factors that tinker with stock prices. So, you need to watch out for these.
Now, I will be ready to take your questions.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite signs that Nigeria’s headline inflation is easing, rising food prices continue to threaten the country’s inflation outlook, the chief executive of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise (CPPE), Mr Muda Yusuf, has warned.
He noted that structural inflationary pressures in the real economy remain pronounced despite improving macroeconomic stability.
In a policy brief released following the inflation report, he noted that headline inflation eased marginally, while month-on-month change moderated from 1.75 per cent to 1.66 per cent, indicating that headline inflation has largely plateaued.
According to him, the dominant concern in the latest inflation report is the renewed acceleration in food inflation.
This growth, he said, suggested that food prices have resumed an upward trajectory after a brief period of moderation.
Warning that a renewed increase in food inflation has significant economic and social implications, he stressed that food inflation remained the biggest driver of Nigeria’s cost-of-living crisis, stressing that rising food prices continue to erode household purchasing power, worsen poverty and food insecurity while weakening the inclusiveness of the current reform programme.
He maintained that sustained moderation in food prices is critical to improving citizens’ welfare and strengthening public confidence in the ongoing economic reforms.
Acknowledging the easing of core inflation as encouraging, he drew attention to the persistence of urban inflation.
At 16.08 per cent, urban inflation exceeded the national headline inflation rate of 15.91 per cent, while month-on-month urban inflation increased from 1.99 per cent to 2.13 per cent.
According to Mr Yusuf, the figures indicated that inflationary pressures remained particularly intense across urban centres.
He attributed the rising urban inflation partly to increasing population displacement from rural communities affected by insecurity, expressing worry that as more households migrate to urban areas, demand for housing, transportation, utilities and other essential services would increase, adding to inflationary pressures and creating additional urbanisation challenges.
Addressing insecurity in farming communities, he said, was important not only for protecting lives and property and boosting agricultural output but also for easing cost pressures in urban centres, adding that the June CPI data reinforced the view that Nigeria’s inflation challenge is predominantly structural rather than monetary.
On the monetary policy outlook, he said the data do not justify further monetary tightening, arguing that headline inflation has largely stabilised.
The CPPE chief expected the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) to retain the current monetary policy rate at its next meeting, adding that the priority is for monetary and fiscal authorities to work together to accelerate structural reforms to expand food supply, improve logistics, reduce energy and production costs, lower debt service costs, as well as strengthen domestic value chains.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Additional shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The new equities were added to the company’s existing stocks on Customs Street on Thursday, July 16, 2026, a notice from the bourse confirmed.
Business Post reports the total new ordinary shares of Sterling Holdings listed yesterday were 13,812,239,000 units.
They were from the offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each sold for N7.00 per share, which was oversubscribed by investors.
The financial institution brought the new shares to the stock exchange to increase its total issued and fully paid-up shares to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each from 52,117,012,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.
“Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 13,812,239,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc were on Thursday, July 16, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares listed on NGX arose from the company’s offer for subscription of 12,581,000,000 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N7.00 per share.
“With the listing of the additional shares, the total issued and fully paid-up shares of Sterling Financial Holdings Company Plc have now increased from 52,117,012,414 to 65,929,251,414 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each,” the notice read.
By Adedapo Adesanya
President Bola Tinubu has signed a Presidential Executive Order on Virtual Assets Coordination, establishing a new framework to coordinate the regulation of virtual assets across government agencies as Nigeria seeks to curb fraud while supporting innovation in the digital economy.
The Executive Order, which takes immediate effect, creates a Virtual Asset Council chaired by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to harmonise oversight of cryptocurrencies, tokenised assets, stablecoins, and other digital assets without creating a new regulator.
As part of the new framework, the CBN will establish a regulatory sandbox that will allow eligible firms to test virtual asset products, blockchain solutions, and related services under regulatory supervision before they are introduced to the wider market.
The development was disclosed in a statement issued on Friday by the President’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Mr Bayo Onanuga.
According to the presidency, the Executive Order responds to the growing complexity of virtual assets, which increasingly cut across the traditional boundaries of currencies, securities, commodities, and payment systems.
The fragmented regulatory environment has left gaps that have exposed Nigeria to money laundering, terrorism financing, cybersecurity and data privacy risks, fraud, and revenue losses.
The government said some unregistered operators have exploited these regulatory gaps to defraud unsuspecting Nigerians, resulting in significant financial losses.
“The Order is designed to close these gaps through supervisory coordination, without introducing new layers of regulation or displacing the mandates of existing agencies,” the statement read.
Under the new framework, the Virtual Asset Council will be chaired by the CBN, with the Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) and the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) serving as vice chairs. Other members include the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU) and the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA).
The Council will provide policy direction, improve cooperation among participating agencies, and work with the Attorney General of the Federation to develop a harmonised legal and institutional framework for the sector.
The Executive Order also establishes a Virtual Asset Office, which will serve as the Council’s operational arm. The office will be domiciled at the CBN and will coordinate information sharing, applications, and reporting among the participating agencies through a shared supervisory technology platform.
The presidency stressed that the Executive Order does not create a new regulator or transfer statutory powers from existing agencies, clarifying that instead, each institution will continue to exercise its existing mandate while working within a coordinated framework.
Under the arrangement, registration of virtual asset businesses will depend on the nature of the service being offered.
Activities classified as securities will continue to be regulated by the SEC, while payment, settlement, custody, and other services involving non-security virtual assets will fall under the CBN.
Where there is uncertainty over regulatory jurisdiction, the Virtual Asset Council will determine the appropriate supervising agency.
“The sandbox will provide a controlled environment in which eligible operators can test and operate virtual asset products, services, and blockchain-based solutions under close supervision, enabling the participating agencies to assess the implications for monetary sovereignty, financial stability, market integrity, consumer protection, financial inclusion, and revenue administration before products reach the wider market,” the statement added.
According to the presidency, the sandbox will enable regulators to evaluate the implications of emerging products for financial stability, monetary sovereignty, consumer protection, financial inclusion, market integrity, and revenue administration.
The central bank is expected to announce further details of the sandbox.
