Economy
Nigerian Equity Market Extends Rally by 0.58% Amid Weak Sentiment
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited consolidated its gains on Thursday with a 0.58 per cent appreciation amid weak investor sentiment triggered by a further rise in inflation.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) yesterday said the average prices of goods and services increased by 29.90 per cent in January 2024 compared with 28.92 per cent in December 2023.
The rising food prices in the country were attributed to this, and this development only makes investors continue to shop for asset classes that can beat the high inflation rate.
This affected the level of activity at the equity market on Thursday as the trading volume, value and the number of deals waned by 33.36 per cent, 42.98 per cent, and 5.62 per cent, respectively.
Business Post reports that traders bought and sold 284.5 million equities worth N6.9 billion in 8,168 deals versus the 426.9 million equities worth N12.1 billion traded a day earlier in 8,654 deals.
The busiest stock for the day was GTCO with a turnover of 56.6 million units valued at N2.2 billion, followed by Transcorp with the sale of 33.2 million units worth N418.3 million, UBA exchanged 18.4 million units for N453.0 million, Mutual Benefits transacted 16.8 million units worth N11.5 million, and AXA Mansard traded 12.5 million units valued at N75.6 million.
Investor sentiment was weak yesterday as the bourse closed with 26 price losers and 24 price gainers, implying a negative market breadth index.
The biggest price gainer was University Press, growing by 9.96 per cent to N2.87 trailed by Juli, which soared by 9.84 per cent to N1.34. Mutual Benefits appreciated by 9.38 per cent to 70 Kobo, DAAR Communications expanded by 8.82 per cent to 74 Kobo, and Honeywell Flour increased by 7.50 per cent to N4.30.
Conversely, Unilever Nigeria was the biggest price loser after it shed 9.80 per cent to close at N16.10, Julius Berger declined by 9.64 per cent to N50.60, Morison Industries crashed by 9.60 per cent to N2.73, May & Baker decreased by 6.52 per cent to N6.45, and NASCON went down by 5.37 per cent to N59.05.
The banking sector suffered a loss of 1.32 per cent during the session, though this did not affect the outcome of the market.
This was because the industrial goods space jumped by 1.95 per cent, the consumer goods index improved by 0.22 per cent, and the insurance counter gained 0.18 per cent, while the energy sector closed flat.
As a result, the All-Share Index (ASI) moved up by 601.72 points to 104,100.00 points from 103,498.28 points, as the market capitalisation surged by N329 billion to N56.962 trillion from N56.633 trillion.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Nigeria slightly surpassed its quota set by the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) in July 2026.
In the month under review, the country produced about 1.57 million barrels of crude oil per day.
It was the third consecutive month Africa’s largest oil-producing nation was meeting its monthly quota, set to stabilise the price of the commodity on the global market by the oil cartel.
Data released by the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC) on Wednesday showed that the 1.5 million barrels per day ceiling for Nigeria was surpassed last month.
The agency disclosed in a statement today that the country produced 1.505mbpd of crude oil and 0.17mbpd of condensate, bringing the combined daily production to 1.67mbpd.
In the month under review, the daily peak production of crude oil and condensate was 1.78mbpd, while the lowest daily production was 1.57mbpd.
Although Nigeria met its OPEC quota in the month of July, the statistics show that on a month-on-month basis, production fell by 4 per cent.
This was attributed to the decline in production due to operational challenges experienced at the Erha and Akpo fields, which impacted crude oil output during the period under review.
These disruptions constrained production volumes and contributed significantly to the overall reduction in national crude oil output.
Despite the challenges, production operations across most other producing assets remained relatively stable, with operators implementing measures aimed at maintaining production efficiency and minimising the impact of operational constraints, NUPRC stated.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The over 9 billion shares of Lasaco Assurance Plc issued to shareholders of the company via a rights issue have been listed on the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited.
The equities were brought to Customs Street on Wednesday by the organisation, increasing its total issued and fully paid-up share capital.
Lasaco Assurance, which scaled the recapitalisation hurdle of the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) in July 2026, raised fresh capital from the capital market to shore up its capital base.
The underwriting firm got about N18.5 billion from the rights issue, which involved the issuance of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares at a unit price of N2.00.
The exercise was on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
Confirming the listing of the additional stocks of Lasaco Assurance today, the Head of Issuer Regulation Department of NGX RegCo, Mr Godstime Iwenekhai, announced in a circular that, “Trading licence holders are hereby notified that an additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each of Lasaco Assurance Plc were today, Wednesday, August 12, 2026, listed on the daily official list of Nigerian Exchange Limited.
“The additional shares arose from the company’s rights issue of 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each at N2.00 per share on the basis of five new ordinary shares for every existing six ordinary shares held as of the close of business on Friday, February 20, 2026.
“With the listing of the additional 9,236,321,546 ordinary shares, the total issued and fully paid-up share capital of Lasaco Assurance Plc has now increased from 11,083,585,855 to 20,319,907,401 ordinary shares of 50 Kobo each.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigerian Insurers Association (NIA) has said the successful recapitalisation of the insurance industry will strengthen the sector’s ability to support financial stability and economic growth.
NIA Chairman, Mrs Ebelechukwu Nwachukwu, said a well-capitalised insurance industry would be better positioned to meet its obligations promptly, underwrite complex and large-scale risks and serve as a dependable pillar of the Nigerian economy.
She made the remarks while commending the National Insurance Commission (NAICOM) for its structured implementation of the new minimum capital requirements under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA) 2025.
Mrs Nwachukwu said NAICOM’s clear guidelines, systematic verification process, defined timelines and rigorous supervision had provided operators with a credible framework for navigating the recapitalisation exercise.
She described the outcome as a major milestone for the industry and congratulated the 43 insurance and reinsurance companies that have successfully met the prescribed minimum capital requirements.
According to her, the exercise represents “a major win not just for regulators and operators, but for policyholders, investors and the wider Nigerian economy.”
Mrs Nwachukwu said the association would continue to work with NAICOM and other stakeholders to consolidate the gains of the exercise, with emphasis on sustainable industry growth, stronger market conduct and improved consumer confidence.
The official also expressed solidarity with the eight companies still undergoing final verification and regulatory review, urging them to remain confident as NAICOM completes the process within the 14-day review period.
The NIA chairman assured policyholders and the wider business community that the insurance industry would emerge from the recapitalisation exercise stronger, more resilient and better positioned to contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
