Economy
Nigerian Exchange Nears 100,000-point Threshold Again After 0.55% Gain
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited gained 0.55 per cent on Monday on the back of sustained bargain-hunting activities by investors, which took the bourse closer to the 100,000-point threshold.
Customs Street has crossed 100,000 points more than three times this year, but profit-taking activities by investors have always been the pullback.
In January, it crossed the psychological mark only to fall below the next month and then crossed again in March and crumbled in April.
This continued till June, when it went past 100,000 point and faltered the next month but picked itself up in the same month and going down again in July. It has remained below the threshold from the seventh month of 2024 till now.
On the first trading session of this week, the All-Share Index (ASI) increased by 544.57 points to 99,922.63 points from 99,378.06 points and the market capitalisation jumped by N330 billion to close at N60.572 trillion compared with the preceding session’s N60.242 trillion.
The day ended with 35 price gainers and 25 price losers, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.
Royal Exchange and Living Trust Mortgage Bank gained 10.00 per cent each to quote at 66 Kobo and N3.30 apiece, International Breweries grew by 9.90 per cent to N4.55, Guinea Insurance rose by 9.84 per cent to 67 Kobo, and Caverton expanded by 9.60 per cent to N2.17.
Conversely, University Press shed 9.81 per cent to settle at N3.77, Haldane McCall declined by 9.62 per cent to N4.70, International Energy Insurance slumped by 9.52 per cent to N1.33, ABC Transport shrank by 8.70 per cent to N1.05, and Sovereign Trust Insurance weakened by 8.24 per cent to 78 Kobo.
During the trading day, investors traded 740.9 million shares valued at N16.9 billion in 10,430 deals compared with the 544.2 million shares worth N10.6 billion traded in 8,464 deals last Friday, implying a surge in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 36.15 per cent, 59.43 per cent and 23.23 per cent, respectively.
The most active stock for the session was Sterling Holdings with 197.0 million units sold for N955.5 million, Wema Bank transacted 150.5 million units valued at N1.3 billion, eTranzact exchanged 70.1 million units worth N473.2 million, Tantalizers traded 57.3 million units for N101.2 million, and Access Holdings transacted 20.5 million units valued at N491.9 million.
Business Post reports that the bears and the bulls battled for the control of the market yesterday, with the former grabbing three of the five key sectors of the bourse at the close of transactions.
The insurance space lost 0.96 per cent, the banking index went down by 0.06 per cent, and the energy counter decreased by 0.02 per cent.
However, the consumer goods sector improved by 1.24 per cent, and the industrial goods industry went up by 0.09 per cent.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
All may now be set for the presentation of the 2025 Appropriation Bill to the joint session of the National Assembly by President Bola Tinubu on Wednesday, December 18, 2024.
The exercise was earlier scheduled for today, Tuesday, December 17, 2024, but it was shifted to tomorrow after the 2025 budget proposal of N48 trillion was approved Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The council met on Monday on the 2025 Appropriation Bill and made a few amendments, according to the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Mr Atiku Bagudu, who addressed journalists after the meeting yesterday at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
“Today, the Federal Executive Council approved the budget proposals for 2025 with amendments, which Mr President directed, following a presentation to the Federal Executive Council by the Director of the Budget Office, Tanimu Yakubu.
“The 2025 budget proposal articulates the federal government’s financial plan for the 2025 fiscal year and aligns with the renewed hope agenda and the National Development Plan, 2021–2025, as earlier approved in the medium-term expenditure framework and fiscal strategy paper,” the Minister informed newsmen
Mr Bagudu disclosed that the framework is based on a benchmark oil price of $75 per barrel, an exchange rate of N1,400/$1 and crude oil production of 2.06 billion barrels per day.
He disclosed that based on these parameters, the total projected revenue for the year is N34.820 trillion out of which the expenditure is projected at N47,960 trillion, higher than the 2024 figures by 36.8 per cent, with the deficit projected at N13.13 trillion, to be financed by borrowing.
Also addressing members of the press after the meeting was the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister for the Economy, Mr Wale Edun, who announced that the N13 trillion deficit would be financed through borrowing.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange slumped by 0.57 per cent on Monday, December 16, trimming the benchmark index, the Unlisted Security Index (NSI), by 117.21 points to 3,014.95 points from the 3,092.16 points it ended last Friday.
However, the market capitalisation of the alternative bourse went down by 2.74 per cent or N29.16 billion during the session to N1.033 trillion from the N1.062 trillion it closed in the previous trading day.
Business Post reports that FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc lost N2.75 yesterday to settle at N40.10 per share compared with the preceding session’s N42.85 per share and Afriland Properties Plc weakened by 10 Kobo to wrap the trading day at N16.20 per unit, in contrast to last Friday’s N16.30 per unit.
A look at the activity chart showed that the volume of securities bought and sold by investors on the first trading session of the week went down by 92.6 per cent to 90,629 units from the 1.2 million units transacted at the last session.
Also, the value of shares traded by the market participants on Monday declined by 6.7 per cent to N2.3 million from the N2.4 million quoted in the previous session, as the number of deals carried out closed flat at 18 deals.
At the close of business, Geo-Fluids Plc retained its position as the most active stock by volume (year-to-date) with 1.7 billion units sold for N3.9 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.6 million units worth N5.3 million.
Aradel Holdings Plc also remained the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 108.7 million units worth N89.2 billion, trailed by Okitipupa Plc with 752.2 million units valued at N7.8 billion, and Afriland Properties Plc with 297.6 million units sold for N5.3 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday after the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) disclosed that the inflation rate increased in November 2024 to a multi-year high of 34.60 per cent.
The local currency lost N12.10 or 0.79 per cent against the greenback yesterday to trade at N1,545.10/$1 compared with last Friday’s closing rate of N1,533.00/$1, according to data from the FMDQ Securities Exchange.
The NBS on Monday indicated that inflation rose by 0.72 per cent on a month-on-month basis to a year-high of 34.60 per cent in November 2024. In the preceding month, the rate was 33.88 per cent.
Analysts at Coronation Plc noted, “The month-on-month core inflation measure eased to 1.38 per cent from 2.14 per cent in October, following the NNPC downwards review of petrol price in November.”
However, it warned that “Persistent inflationary pressures continue to pose significant challenges to businesses and households. Elevated production costs have translated into higher operating expenses for businesses, many of which have been passed on to consumers through increased prices. This dynamic erodes household purchasing power and suppresses consumer demand.”
But it was observed that at the official market, the domestic currency appreciated against the Pound Sterling yesterday by N1.31 to trade at N1,940.88/£1 compared with the previous trading day’s N1,942.19/£1 and against the Euro, it improved by N3.98 to sell for N1,608.87/€1 versus N1,612.85/€1.
At the black market, the Naira, however, declined against the Dollar yesterday by N10 to settle at N1,660/$1, in contrast to the previous trading session’s price of N1,650/$1.
Meanwhile, the digital currency market was largely mixed as investors awaited interest rate cuts by the US Federal Reserve this week while a stronger Dollar affected riskier assets.
Ripple (XRP) gained 4.5 per cent to sell at $2.52 as it announced the RLUSD stablecoin set to officially launch on Tuesday and the bullish sentiments surrounding the launch could further boost the price of the coin.
Further, Bitcoin (BTC) increased its value by 1.5 per cent to finish at $106,876.37, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $4,019.57, and Binance Coin (BNB) rose by 0.4 per cent to $718.02.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $215.97, Litecoin (LTC) slid by 3.1 per cent to $117.16, Cardano (ADA) lost 2.2 per cent to quote at $1.06, and Dogecoin (DOGE) fell by 1.3 per cent to $0.4001, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.
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