Economy
NGX Rises 0.10% as UBA, GSK, Others Record Upward Price Movement
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited extended its rally on Friday by 0.10 per cent, following the upward price movement in UBA, GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), Ellah Lakes, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance and 12 others.
Business Post reports that apart from the energy index, which shed 0.02 per cent, and the industrial goods sector, which further closed flat for the second straight session, the three other key sectors closed higher.
Data from the local stock exchange revealed that the insurance counter appreciated by 0.67 per cent, the consumer goods sector improved by 0.64 per cent, and the banking space grew by 0.10 per cent.
Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 67.50 points to settle at 67,200.69 points compared with Thursday’s closing value of 67,133.19 points, and the market capitalisation gained N37 billion to close at N36.920 trillion versus the preceding day’s N36.883 trillion.
The market breadth index was positive yesterday as there were only 12 price losers, indicating a strong investor sentiment helped by sustained bargain-hunting in stocks with sound fundamentals.
University Press topped the gainers’ log after it chalked up 9.77 per cent to trade at N2.36, Ellah Lakes appreciated by 9.57 per cent to N4.35, Consolidated Hallmark Insurance rose by 9.52 per cent to N1.15, John Holt increased its value by 903 per cent to N1.57, and Thomas Wyatt jumped by 8.53 per cent to N2.80.
On the flip side, DAAR Communications led the losers’ table with a price depreciation of 8.70 per cent to sell at 21 Kobo, as FTN Cocoa lost 4.65 per cent to trade at N1.64. Caverton fell by 3.38 per cent to N1.43, Courteville shrank by 3.23 per cent to 60 Kobo, and Transcorp fell by 2.86 per cent to N6.12.
This newspaper observed that the level of activity waned during the last trading session of the week, with the trading volume, value and the number of deals down by 27.55 per cent, 8.70 per cent, and 9.65 per cent apiece.
This was after investors bought and sold 224.1 million equities worth N4.2 billion in 5,049 deals versus the 309.3 million equities valued at N4.6 billion transacted in 5,588 deals a day earlier.
The most active stock for the trading session was UBA, which exchanged 48.2 million units for N842.1 million, trailed by GTCO, which transacted 33.2 million units for N1.1 billion. Access Holdings traded 23.5 million units worth N371.8 million, Zenith Bank sold 13.0 million units for N415.1 million, and Transcorp traded 10.2 million units valued at N62.9 million.
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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