Economy
Equities Attract N485.4bn in Q2 amid Desire to Hedge Against Inflation
By Dipo Olowookere
The desire to hedge against inflation has forced some investors back into the equity market, resulting in an increase in their participation in the landscape in the second quarter of 2022 when compared with the first quarter of the year.
According to data from the bourse, in Q2 of 2022, both local and foreign investors traded N485.4 billion worth of stocks on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited compared with the N346.4 billion traded in Q1 of 2022, indicating an increase of 40.11 per cent.
It was also gathered that in the period under review, traders bought and sold 54.3 billion equities, 143.83 per cent higher than the 22.3 billion equities transacted in the first three months of the year. In the same vein, the number of deals rose by 8.5 per cent quarter-on-quarter to 320,778 trades from 295,533 trades.
It was observed that the major attraction was some stocks with sound fundamentals as investors take a position in companies paying interim dividends as the market looks forward to half-year earnings of listed firms this month.
As a result of the buying pressure, the All-Share Index appreciated by 10.3 per cent to 51,817.59 points in Q2 2022 from 46,965.48 points in Q1 2022, while the market capitalisation grew to N27.94 trillion from N25.31 trillion.
While commenting on the trading data, the chief executive of Wyoming Capital & Partners, Mr Tajudeen Olayinka, noted that improved liquidity in the system in the last six months is responsible for the positive performance of the Nigerian stock market.
Other factors driving liquidity in the equities market, he added, are “instant payment of dividends to shareholders through electronic means (e-dividend), provides opportunities for immediate reinvestment of these dividends, especially by institutional investors, who manage funds and portfolios for clients.
“This did not leave out other traditional investors, who took advantage of low prices, in the run-up to financial year-end rallies that we saw at the beginning of the year 2022.”
He further attributed the buying interests to the “negative real return in the fixed income market and the need to hedge against inflation.”
According to him, “Equity market is an inflation adjusting market, and so, some investors who were willing to hedge against inflation, irrespective of the downside risk that the market poses, decided to bring liquidity back to the equity market.”
“The ongoing crash in the crypto market brought liquidity back to the equity market. It has been said that more Nigerian investors participate actively in the crypto space, and so, the sudden, though long expected crash in that market, made some affected Nigerian investors cut their losses, for less volatile and recoverable opportunities in the equity market.
“Availability of derivative products is encouraging more institutional investors to embrace the equity market. Investors can now short or long the market at ease. All these activities provide liquidity to the market,” Mr Olayinka further stated.
Business Post observed that in the period under consideration, the value of fixed income at the exchange rose by 38.7 per cent to N1.01 trillion from N728.9 billion reported in Q1 2022.
According to the data by the NGX, the volume of fixed income traded moved to 972,206.00 in Q2 2022 from 688,564 reported in Q1 2022, while its market capitalisation jumped to N22.23 trillion from N21.42 trillion.
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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