Economy
Market Gains N18bn as Investors Mop Up Banking, Consumer Goods Stocks
By Dipo Olowookere
Banking and consumer goods stocks were investors’ toast on the floor of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Thursday, further lifting the local bourse marginally by 0.05 per cent at the close of business.
Data obtained by Business Post showed that the banking space rose by 0.94 per cent and the consumer goods index appreciated by 0.07 per cent, while the insurance counter went down by 1.80 per cent, with the energy and industrial goods sectors closing flat each.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) inched higher by 32.70 points to 67,133.19 points from 67,100.49 points, as the market capitalisation increased by N18 billion to N36.883 trillion from N36.865 trillion.
Thomas Wyatt was the best-performing equity during the session as it gained 9.79 per cent to trade at N2.58, Courteville appreciated by 8.77 per cent to 62 Kobo, DEAP Capital went up by 8.00 per cent to 27 Kobo, Africa Prudential jumped by 7.69 per cent to N7.00, and Unilever Nigeria surged by 6.04 per cent to N14.05.
Conversely, Cornerstone Insurance ended the day as the worst-performing stock after it shed 6.06 per cent to close at N1.55, AXA Mansard lost 3.61 per cent to sell at N4.00, Regency Alliance shrank by 2.86 per cent to 34 Kobo, United Capital declined by 2.07 per cent to N16.55, and Transcorp declined by 2.02 per cent to N6.30.
Analysis showed that there were 22 price gainers yesterday and nine price losers, representing a positive market breadth index and a strong investor sentiment influenced by renewed confidence in the market.
Heavy bargain-hunting was seen in the banking sector on Thursday, with Fidelity Bank emerging as the busiest, trading 61.8 million shares valued at N511.5 million.
Access Holdings transacted 54.5 million stocks worth N860.1 million, UBA exchanged 28.8 million equities for N503.1 million, Zenith Bank sold 20.5 million shares for N649.3 million, and Transcorp traded 12.9 million equities valued at N82.3 million.
Like the preceding day, the activity chart was mixed, with the trading value growing by 2.22 per cent, and the trading volume and the number of deals going down by 24.62 per cent and 0.87 per cent apiece.
A total of 309.3 million shares worth N4.6 billion were transacted during the session in 5,588 deals versus the 410.3 million shares worth N4.5 billion traded in 5,637 deals in the midweek session.
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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