Economy
Stocks Post Highest Daily Loss in 11 Months After CBN’s Rate Hike
By Dipo Olowookere
The decision of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to increase the monetary policy rate (MPR) to 13.0 per cent from 11.5 per cent on Tuesday after its third Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting for the year had a spiral effect on local stocks.
At the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited yesterday, the action of the central bank in two years further dampened the mood of investors, who, upon receiving the news, embarked on a selling spree.
This put pressure on the exchange as it shed 1.82 per cent, the highest it has lost in a single trading session in almost a year (11 months).
Consequently, the All Share Index (ASI) deflated by 961.87 points to 51,949.64 points from 52,911.51 points, while the market capitalisation shrank by N518 billion to N28.007 trillion from N28.525 trillion.
Analysis showed that the bearish mood was across the key sectors of the market as none closed in the green region. The consumer goods index lost 1.21 per cent, the insurance space fell by 1.09 per cent, the industrial goods counter depleted by 0.61 per cent, the banking sector crashed by 0.39 per cent, while the energy index depreciated by 0.32 per cent.
However, the activity chart was green due to the cross deals witnessed in Ecobank and others, causing the trading volume, value and number of deals to rise by 173.48 per cent, 149.79 per cent and 25.54 per cent respectively.
A total of 720.2 million shares worth N8.9 billion were traded in 6,096 deals compared with the 263.3 million shares worth N3.6 billion traded in 4,856 deals on Monday.
Ecobank recorded the highest trades by volume for selling 257.6 million stocks valued at N3.0 billion, Jaiz Bank traded 78.0 million shares worth N69.7 million, Access Holdings exchanged 60.5 million equities worth N605.0 million, UAC Nigeria transacted 52.2 million shares for N673.1 million, while Transcorp sold 31.4 million equities valued at N39.7 million.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment was weak during the session as there were 39 price losers and 17 price gainers led by Japual, which grew by 10.00 per cent to 33 kobo.
Industrial and Medical Gases rose by 9.89 per cent to N10.00, MRS Oil grew by 9.70 per cent to N16.40, Abbey Mortgage Bank appreciated by 9.09 per cent to N1.80, while Academy Press improved by 8.15 per cent to N1.46.
Conversely, Guinness Nigeria recorded the highest decline after it dropped 10.00 per cent to sell at N88.20, Global Spectrum Energy Services lost 9.77 per cent to trade at N2.77, Axa Mansard depreciated by 9.73 per cent to N2.04, Chams went down by 8.70 per cent to 21 kobo, while Veritas Kapital depleted by 8.70 per cent to 21 kobo.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
