Economy
Stock Market Falls on Emergence of Tinubu as APC Presidential Candidate
By Dipo Olowookere
The stock market depreciated by 0.14 per cent on Wednesday as investors begin another round of profit-taking with the key contenders in the 2023 presidential election between the two major political parties now known.
Yesterday, a former Governor of Lagos State, Mr Bola Tinubu, emerged as the flag-bearer of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in next year’s poll, defeating the Vice President, Mr Yemi Osinbajo, who came third and former Governor of Rivers State, Mr Rotimi Amaechi, who was the first runner-up.
With a former Vice President, Mr Atiku Abubakar, as the candidate of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and a former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, as the ticket holder of the Labour Party, investors can now guess who will likely take over from President Muhammadu Buhari on May 29, 2023.
Ahead of this, they are treading cautiously and this was reflected in the outcome of the market at the midweek session. The market capitalisation depreciated by N42 billion to settle at N28.677 trillion compared with Tuesday’s N28.719 trillion, while the All Share Index (ASI) fell by 76.90 points to close at 53,193.98 points in contrast to the previous day’s 53,270.88 points.
Trading data showed that investor sentiment was weak yesterday as the exchange ended the session with 20 depreciating stocks and 16 appreciating stocks led by Caverton, which gained 7.34 per cent to close at N1.17.
FTN Cocoa rose by 5.88 per cent to 36 kobo, Transcorp improved by 5.69 per cent to N1.30, Cutix expanded by 4.98 per cent to N2.74, while Linkage Assurance advanced by 3.70 per cent to 56 kobo.
Champion Breweries was the heaviest price loser on Wednesday as it fell by 9.79 per cent to N3.50, Cornerstone Insurance depreciated by 9.68 per cent to 56 kobo, eTranzact went down by 9.67 per cent to N2.71, NEM Insurance depleted by 8.33 per cent to N3.85, while Japaul slipped by 6.25 per cent to 30 kobo.
Business Post reports that the insurance and banking counters went down by 1.76 per cent and 0.86 per cent apiece, while the consumer goods and industrial goods sectors gained 0.13 per cent and 0.03 per cent respectively, with the energy index closing flat.
A total of 249.0 million equities worth N1.9 billion exchanged hands in 4,265 deals on Wednesday compared with the 234.6 million equities worth N2.8 billion traded in 4,232 deals on Tuesday, implying a decline in the value of trades by 32.19 per cent and an increase in the volume of trades and number of trades by 6.11 per cent and 0.78 per cent respectively.
Transcorp dominated the activity chart yesterday, closing as the most active after trading 103.6 million stocks valued at N131.3 million, Fidelity Bank sold 24.8 million shares valued at N80.2 million, FBN Holdings traded 12.5 million equities worth N130.6 million, Japaul exchanged 10.4 million equities valued at N3.1 million, while Chams transacted 7.8 million stocks for N1.9 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange recorded a 0.65 per cent gain on Friday, December 13, boosted by three equities admitted on the trading platform.
On the last trading session of the week, Okitipupa Plc appreciated by N2.70 to settle at N29.74 per share versus Thursday’s closing price of N27.04 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N2.49 to end the session at N42.85 per unit compared with the previous day’s N40.36 per unit, and Afriland Properties Plc gained 50 Kobo to close at N16.30 per share, in contrast to the preceding session’s N15.80 per share.
Consequently, the market capitalisation added N6.89 billion to settle at N1.062 trillion compared with the preceding day’s N1.055 trillion and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) gained 19.66 points to wrap the session at 3,032.16 points compared with 3,012.50 points recorded in the previous session.
Yesterday, the volume of securities traded by investors increased by 171.6 per cent to 1.2 million units from the 447,905 units recorded a day earlier, but the value of shares traded by the market participants declined by 19.3 per cent to N2.4 million from the N3.02 million achieved a day earlier, and the number of deals went down by 14.3 per cent to 18 deals from 21 deals.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc was the most active stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with a turnover of 1.7 billion units worth N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with the sale of 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.3 million units sold for N5.3 million.
In the same vein, Aradel Holdings Plc remained the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with the sale of 108.7 million units for N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with a turnover of 297.3 million units worth N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira appreciated further against the United States Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) by N1.50 or 0.09 per cent to close at N1,533.00/$1 on Friday, December 13 versus the N1,534.50/$1 it was transacted on Thursday.
The local currency has continued to benefit from the Electronic Foreign Exchange Matching System (EFEMS) introduced by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) this month.
The implementation of the forex system comes with diverse implications for all segments of the financial markets that deal with FX, including the rebound in the value of the Naira across markets.
The system instantly reflects data on all FX transactions conducted in the interbank market and approved by the CBN.
Market analysts say the publication of real-time prices and buy-sell orders data from this system has lent support to the Naira in the official market and tackled speculation.
In the official market yesterday, the domestic currency improved its value against the Pound Sterling by N12.58 to wrap the session at N1,942.19/£1 compared with the previous day’s N1,954.77/£1 and against the Euro, it gained N2.44 to close at N1,612.85/€1 versus Thursday’s closing price of N1,610.41/€1.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N30 to sell for N1,650/$1 compared with the preceding session’s value of N1,680/$1.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was largely positive as investors banked on recent signals, including fresh support from US President-elect, Mr Donald Trump, as well as interest rate cuts by the European Central Bank (ECB).
Ripple (XRP) added 7.3 per cent to sell at $2.49, Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 3.5 per cent to $728.28, Cardano (ADA) expanded by 2.4 per cent to trade at $1.11, Litecoin (LTC) increased by 2.3 per cent to $122.56, Bitcoin (BTC) gained 1.9 per cent to settle at $101,766.17, Dogecoin (DOGE) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $0.4064, Solana (SOL) soared by 0.7 per cent to $226.15 and Ethereum (ETH) advanced by 0.6 per cent to $3,925.35, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
For the fourth consecutive trading session, the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited closed higher on Friday by 0.63 per cent on sustained renewed buying pressure.
Apart from the energy and industrial goods sectors which closed flat, every other sector ended in the green territory, according to data obtained from the bourse.
Business Post reports that the insurance index appreciated by 1.52 per cent, the banking space improved by 0.63 per cent, and the consumer goods counter expanded by 0.46 per cent.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) gained 617.47 points to settle at 99,378.06 points compared with the preceding day’s 98,760.59 points and the market capitalisation went up by 375 billion to close at N60.242 trillion, in contrast to Thursday’s closing value of N59.867 trillion.
The volume of transactions on Customs Street yesterday grew by 11.13 per cent to 544.2 million shares from the 489.7 million shares transacted a day earlier.
The value of transactions increased during the session by 49.30 per cent to N10.6 billion from N7.1 billion and the number of deals went up by 1.93 per cent to 8,464 deals from the 8,304 deals posted in the previous trading session.
The busiest equity for the trading day was Japaul with the sale of 71.7 million units valued at N158.0 million, eTranzact exchanged 70.7 million units worth N477.5 million, Tantalizers sold 57.3 million units for N101.2 million, FCMB traded 33.0 million units worth N297.3 million, and Universal Insurance transacted 27.1 million units valued at N9.6 million.
A total of 36 stocks ended on the gainers’ chart, while 15 stocks finished on the losers’ table, indicating a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
The trio of Aradel Holdings, Ikeja Hotel and Caverton gained 10.00 per cent each to trade at N550.00, N8.80, and N1.98, respectively, as Africa Prudential rose by 9.87 per cent to N17.25 and Golden Guinea Breweries soared by 9.64 per cent to N8.64.
On the flip side, Austin Laz lost 10.00 per cent to close at N1.62, ABC Transport crashed by 8.00 per cent to N1.15, Royal Exchange slumped by 7.69 per cent to 60 Kobo, Secure Electronic Technology plunged by 5.26 per cent to 54 Kobo, and The Initiates crumbled by 4.26 per cent to N2.25.
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