Economy
Buy Pressure on NGX Extends to Third Day as FCMB Attracts Attention
By Dipo Olowookere
For the third straight day, the local stock market closed bullish on Friday with a 0.16 per cent appreciation influenced by buying pressure on large and mid-cap equities.
Business Post reports that financial equities were among the toasts of investors on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited yesterday, with the banking index rising by 0.34 per cent and the insurance sector appreciating by 0.28 per cent.
However, the energy counter depreciated by 0.35 per cent, while the duo of consumer goods and industrial goods sectors closed flat.
But the All-Share Index (ASI) increased at the close of transactions by 73.50 points to 47,437.48 points from 47,363.98 points, while the market capitalisation went up by N39 billion to N25.566 trillion from N25.527 trillion.
It was observed that FCMB attracted the attention of investors at the exchange on Friday with a cross trade of about 879 million at N3.75 and at the close of trades, it sold a total of 932.9 million units worth N3.5 billion.
Zenith Bank traded 30.0 million shares valued at N805.7 million, Access Bank exchanged 22.5 million equities worth N227.8 million, Fidelity Bank sold 19.3 million stocks for N55.2 million, while United Capital transacted 16.9 million shares valued at N208.5 million.
At the close of business, a total of 1.2 billion stocks worth N7.0 billion were bought and sold in 3,928 deals compared with the 261.6 million stocks worth N4.5 billion transacted in 4,672 deals on Thursday, implying an increase in the trading volume by 341.02 per cent, a rise in the trading value by 56.97 per cent and a decline in the number of deals by 15.92 per cent.
On the price movement chart, Niger Insurance topped the gainers’ chart with a price appreciation of 10.00 per cent to settle at 22 kobo.
RT Briscoe grew by 8.96 per cent to 73 kobo, UPDC rose by 7.61 per cent to 99 kobo, UAC Nigeria improved by 5.97 per cent to N10.65, while Cornerstone Insurance gained 5.71 per cent to trade at 74 kobo.
On the reverse side, Royal Exchange topped the losers’ table after its value went down by 9.70 per cent to N1.21, followed by Ellah Lakes with a price depreciation of 9.57 per cent to N3.12.
Pharma-Deko fell by 8.00 per cent to sell for N1.84, Linkage Assurance declined by 7.14 per cent to 52 kobo, while Unilever Nigeria lost 5.71 per cent to sell for N13.20.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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