Economy
Customs Street Rebounds by 0.24% as GDP Numbers Bring Cheer
By Dipo Olowookere
Traders at Customs Street had a reason to smile on Friday after the stock market rebounded by 0.24 per cent on the back of the gross domestic growth figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
On the previous day, the agency released the unemployment numbers and stirred controversies after it said the unemployment rate in Nigeria dropped to 4.1 per cent in the first quarter of 2023, a sharp contrast to the 33.3 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2020, the last time the numbers were made public.
While stock investors and others were still dissecting the report, the NBS released the GDP figures, and it was revealed that the country’s economy grew by 2.51 per cent in the second quarter of this year.
This brightened the mood of the investing community, raising the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited higher to the green territory at the close of business.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 157.09 points to 65,558.91 points from 65,401.82 points, and the market capitalisation increased by N86 billion to N35.881 trillion from N35.795 trillion.
Business Post reports that all the key sectors of the bourse attracted the attention of investors yesterday, with the consumer goods, energy, banking, insurance, and industrial goods indices rising by 1.08 per cent, 0.26 per cent, 0.14 per cent, 0.12 per cent, and 0.02 per cent apiece.
Also, investor sentiment was strong during the trading session after the exchange ended, with 31 price gainers and 23 price losers, indicating a positive market breadth index.
SFS REIT was the biggest price gainer after it chalked up 9.97 per cent to quote at N83.80, NASCON rose by 9.95 per cent to N44.75, FTN Cocoa improved by 9.94 per cent to N1.99, NEM Insurance appreciated by 9.90 per cent to N5.66, and Red Star Express gained 9.89 per cent to sell for N2.89.
The heaviest price loser was Prestige Assurance after it dropped 9.43 per cent to 48 Kobo, Tantalizers had 9.38 per cent sliced from its price to 29 Kobo, Omatek lost 9.09 per cent to finish at 30 Kobo, Mutual Benefits declined by 8.89 per cent to 41 Kobo, and Guinea Insurance dwindled by 7.41 per cent to 25 Kobo.
It was observed that despite the growth recorded by the NGX yesterday, the activity level was low, as the trading volume, value, and the number of deals depreciated by 38.95 per cent, 67.44 per cent, and 5.73 per cent, respectively.
This was because a total of 356.0 million equities valued at N4.2 billion were transacted in 6,569 deals on Friday compared with the 583.1 million equities worth N12.9 billion traded in 6,968 deals on Thursday.
Transcorp refused to relinquish its position on top of the activity chart on the last trading session of the week after posting a turnover of 76.7 million stocks valued at N442.1 million.
Fidelity Bank sold 53.0 million shares worth N376.9 million, Universal Insurance exchanged 17.8 million equities for N3.7 million, FCMB traded 16.7 million stocks valued at N98.8 million, and Dangote Sugar transacted 16.6 million shares worth N773.9 million.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
One of the paint makers in Nigeria, Premier Paints Plc, is currently in talks with a new investor, Xenergi Limited, for the purchase of 51 per cent stake in the company.
Xenergi Limited intends to acquire shares of Clover Global Resources Limited and TGHL Capital Limited in the organisation.
Business Post gathered that the new investor will buy 39.02 per cent from Clover Global Resources Limited and 15.20 per cent from TGHL Capital Limited.
The deal, according to a regulatory notice issued on Tuesday on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited, will involve about 63 million shares of Premier Paints.
At the current share price of the paint producer, this should be about N630 million as it closed at N10.00 per unit on NGX on December 16, 2025.
“Subject to obtaining required regulatory approvals, the transaction is expected to close before January 31, 2026.
“The company will continue to inform the public of the progress of the transaction,” the disclosure signed by the company secretary, Alozie Nwokoro, said.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira was flat against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Tuesday, December 16, retaining the previous closing value of N1,451.82/$1.
In the same vein, the local currency saw no movement against the Pound Sterling and the Euro in the spot market during the session at N1,943.98/£1 and N1,705.74/€1, respectively.
Also, the Nigerian Naira remained unchanged in the black market yesterday at N1,475/$1 and was N1,460/$1 at the GTBank forex counter.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) has strengthened US Dollar supply with $250 million to authorised dealer banks at the official window cumulatively as foreign portfolio investors, exporters and non-bank corporate supply dripped.
The spread between official and other non-regulated markets decreased to N30.59$/1 from N44.57/$1, from the previous week, research subsidiary of Coronation Merchant Bank Limited said in a report.
FX analysts said foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market decreased to $716.3 million from $844.70 million in the previous week , a 15 per cent drop in a week.
Foreign portfolio investors accounted for the highest share of inflows at 32.98 per cent, followed by exporters at 30.84 per cent, the CBN (17.36 per cent), Non-bank Corporates (16.94 per cent), others (0.72 per cent) and Individuals (0.63 per cent).
On Monday, Nigeria’s headline inflation rate eased to 14.45 per cent in November 2025, down from 16.05 per cent recorded in October, according to the latest Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), representing a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.
As for the cryptocurrency market, there was some recoveries after overall capitalization falling below $3 trillion for the third time in a month. Large-cap assets, particularly those with Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) exposure, are experiencing selling pressure as institutional investors reassess risk.
Ripple (XRP) appreciated by 1.5 per cent to $1.92, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 1.5 per cent to $78.91, Dogecoin (DOGE) rose by 0.8 per cent to $0.1308, Solana (SOL) went up by 0.4 per cent to $127.60, Binance Coin (BNB) grew by 0.3 per cent to $865.40, and Bitcoin (BTC) gained 0.2 per cent to sell at $86,735.17.
On the flip side, Cardano (ADA) depreciated by 1.0 per cent to $0.3802 and Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 0.4 per cent to $2,935.85, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) were flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
A marginal 0.01 per cent rise was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Tuesday. This was different from the flattish mode of the market the previous day.
Investor sentiment remained bullish as Customs Street finished with 31 price gainers and 26 price losers, implying a positive market breadth index.
Aluminium Extrusion topped the gainers’ log after it improved its price by 10.00 per cent to N9.35, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.98 per cent to N263.40, Multiverse expanded by 9.95 per cent to N12.15, MeCure Industries also soared by 9.95 per cent to N45.85, and Sovereign Trust Insurance advanced by 9.89 per cent to N4.11.
Conversely, Haldane McCall led the losers’ chart after it shed 9.93 per cent to settle at N3.72, Veritas Kapital lost 9.09 per cent to close at N1.60, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank also declined by 9.09 per cent to N3.50, and Linkage Assurance depreciated by 5.71 per cent to N1.65.
During the trading day, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 21.23 points to 149,459.11 points from the previous day’s 149,437.88 points and the market capitalisation increased by N14 billion to N95.281 trillion from N95.267 trillion.
Yesterday, traders transacted 1.0 billion equities for N21.8 billion in 23,701 deals compared with the 553.1 million equities valued at N13.3 billion traded in 28,907 deals on Monday, representing a decline in the number of deals by 18.01 per cent, and a surge in the trading volume and value by 80.80 per cent and 63.91 per cent apiece.
Access Holdings traded 385.8 million stocks worth N7.7 billion, Champion Breweries transacted 111.8 million shares valued at N817.8 million, Sterling Holdings exchanged 85.5 million equities for N589.9 million, FCMB sold 74.7 million shares valued at N791.5 million, and First Holdco transacted 51.9 million equities worth N1.8 billion.
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