Economy
Market Sheds N35bn as Traders Offload Banking Stocks
Dipo Olowookere
Profit-taking activities trimmed the value of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited by N35 billion on Friday, closing at N26.686 trillion compared with the previous day’s N26.721 trillion.
Business Post reports that traders found a reason to minimise their exposure to banking stocks and the loss in that sector brought down the market by 0.13 per cent at the close of transactions.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI), which measures the performance of the exchange, decreased by 65.06 points yesterday to 49,475.42 points from the 49,540.48 points recorded on Thursday.
Of the five key sectors of the bourse tracked, only the banking counter ended in the red territory as it lost 1.39 per cent. The insurance space grew by 0.65 per cent, the consumer goods sector appreciated by 0.02 per cent, while the industrial goods and energy indices closed flat.
Investors’ attitude to the local equity market remained lackadaisical on Friday as the activity level further waned due to the decline in the trading volume, value and number of deals by 35.87 per cent, 9.04 per cent and 4.48 per cent respectively.
A total of 107.5 million shares worth N1.2 billion exchanged hands in 3,303 deals yesterday compared with the 167.6 million shares worth N1.3 billion transacted a day earlier in 3,458 deals.
FBN Holdings finished the session as the most active stock as it sold 12.0 million units valued at N120.7 million, Zenith Bank exchanged 12.0 million units worth NN235.9 million, Access Holdings transacted 11.4 million units for N98.3 million, UBA sold 9.1 million units valued at N66.5 million, while GTCO traded 6.7 million units worth N131.6 million.
Regency Assurance topped the losers’ chart on the last trading session of the week with a loss of 7.41 per cent to quote at 25 Kobo, Unity Bank fell by 6.98 per cent to 40 Kobo, Access Holdings dropped 5.14 per cent to N8.30, Cornerstone Insurance depreciated by 4.76 per cent to 60 Kobo, while UBA waned by 4.50 per cent to close at N7.10.
After appreciating by 8.97 per cent, NEM Insurance ended the trading day on top of the gainers’ log to sell at N5.59 and was trailed by Academy Press, which improved by 6.80 per cent to N2.20. Japaul grew by 3.70 per cent to 28 Kobo, Cadbury Nigeria expanded by 3.00 per cent to N13.75, while Wema Bank stretched by 1.76 per cent to N3.46.
At the close of trades, the market breadth was negative with 13 price losers and nine price gainers, indicating a weak investor sentiment.
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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