Economy
Stock Exchange Sheds 0.20% Day After CBN’s 0.5% Rate Hike
By Dipo Olowookere
The domestic stock exchange depreciated by 0.20 per cent about 24 hours after the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) announced a 0.5 per cent hike in the benchmark interest rate to 18.5 per cent.
It was observed that the bears disrupted the winning streak of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday as investors chewed the increase in the Monetary Policy Rate (MPR) and the decline in the gross domestic product (GDP) to 2.31 per cent in the first quarter of 2023.
This pullback squeezed 106.00 points from the All-Share Index (ASI) to 52,821.60 points from 52,927.60 points, as the market capitalisation went down by N57 billion to N28.762 trillion from N28.819 trillion.
Business Post reports that the energy index appreciated during the session by 0.23 per cent, though it was not enough to keep the bourse floating above the danger zone.
This was because the losses posted by the other sectors sank the exchange at the close of transactions, with the consumer goods space losing 0.14 per cent.
The banking counter decreased by 0.11 per cent, the insurance sector shrank by 0.08 per cent, and the industrial goods index closed lower by 0.07 per cent.
Investor sentiment was slightly weak yesterday as there were 23 price losers and 22 price gainers, indicating a negative market breadth.
Conoil suffered the heaviest loss as its value went down by 9.92 per cent to N43.60, Unilever Nigeria declined by 8.28 per cent to N14.40, Eterna fell by 6.21 per cent to N6.80, PZ Cussons shed 6.11 per cent to N16.90, and Japaul dwindled by 5.71 per cent to 33 Kobo.
The biggest price growth was recorded by FTN Cocoa, which gained 8.77 per cent to trade at 62 Kobo, Tantalizers rose by 8.33 per cent to 26 Kobo, Coronation Insurance improved by 7.14 per cent to 45 Kobo, Total Energies expanded by 6.87 per cent to N249.00, and RT Briscoe moved up by 5.88 per cent to 36 Kobo.
Business Post reports that the activity chart was mixed on Thursday as investors transacted 377.1 million shares worth N9.2 billion in 5,879 deals during the trading day compared with the 455.2 million shares worth N7.8 billion traded in 6,635 deals on Wednesday, indicating an increase in the trading value by 17.95 per cent, a decline in the trading volume and the number of deals by 17.16 per cent and 11.39 per cent, respectively.
UBA closed the session as the busiest stock after it traded 86.2 million units valued at N745.9 million, Access Holdings exchanged 67.4 million units worth N737.2 million, Zenith Bank traded 39.4 million units valued at N1.1 billion, GTCO transacted 31.0 million units worth N836.0 million, and Geregu Power sold 13.1 million units for N3.9 billion.
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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