By Adedapo Adesanya

The duo of Golden Capital Plc and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc weakened the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 0.04 per cent on Monday, December 15.

This pulled down the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 1.37 points to 3,599.06 points from last Friday’s 3,600.43 points and the market capitalisation lost N820 million to close at N2.153 billion compared with the preceding session’s N2.154 trillion.

Golden Capital Plc depleted by 94 Kobo to end at N8.51 per share compared with N9.45 per share and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc depreciated by 63 Kobo to sell at N59.60 per unit versus N60.23 per unit.

During the session, the volume of securities traded at the session slumped by 98.4 per cent to 600,402 units from 37.4 million units, the value of securities fell by 99.8 per cent to N7.8 million from N4.9 billion, and the number of deals shed 36.4 per cent to 21 deals from 33 deals.

At the close of trades, Infrastructure Credit Guarantee Company (InfraCredit) Plc remained the most traded stock by value with a year-to-date sale of 5.8 billion units valued at N16.4 billion, followed by Okitipupa Plc with 178.9 million units transacted for N9.5 billion, and MRS Oil Plc with 36.1 million units worth N4.9 billion.

InfraCredit Plc was also the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 5.8 billion units worth N16.4 billion, trailed by Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc with the sale of 1.2 billion units for N420.3 million, and Impresit Bakolori Plc with 537.0 million units traded for N524.9 million.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The Naira opened the week positive as it appreciated against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEM) on Monday, December 15 by N2.68 or 0.18 per cent to close at N1,451.82/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,454.50/$1.

The local currency also saw a positive movement against the Pound Sterling in the official market yesterday as it gained N2.17 to close at N1,943.98/£1 compared with last Friday’s N1,946.15/£1 and added 72 Kobo on the Euro to close at N1,705.74/€1 versus the previous session’s closing price of N1,706.46/€1.

At the GTBank FX counter, the Naira improved its value against the greenback by N3 to settle at N1,460/$1 versus N1,463/$1 but depreciated in the parallel market by N5 to sell for N1,475/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,470/$1.

The appreciation of the local currency in the other segments came even as foreign exchange inflows through the Nigerian Foreign Exchange Market declined to $716.3 million from $844.7 million in the preceding week, according to a report by the Coronation Merchant Bank Research Department.

Also, foreign exchange market reforms continue to lead to positive outcomes with Nigeria recording expanding merchandise trade and a steady build-up of its trade surplus in the last six years.

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) on Monday.

The bureau stated that the figure represents a decrease of 1.6 percentage points month-on-month and marks a significant moderation compared to the same period last year.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market weakened as investors pulled back ahead of key US economic data extending losses as year-end caution builds.

Broader indicators suggest the market is entering a deeper corrective phase ahead of Tuesday’s November US jobs report, which is expected to show a cooling labour market.

Ethereum (ETH) slumped by 5.9 per cent to $2,941.92, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 5.3 per cent to $1.89, Cardano (ADA) declined by 4.9 per cent to $0.3839, and Dogecoin (DOGE) dropped 4.8 per cent to $0.1299.

Further, Litecoin (LTC) went down by 1.9 per cent to $77.63, Solana (SOL) decreased by 3.7 per cent to $127.11, Bitcoin (BTC) lost 3.5 per cent to sell at $86,436.88, and Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 2.7 per cent to $863.78, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.

By Dipo Olowookere

The first trading day of the week at the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited ended in stalemate on Monday, though the key performance indicators were slightly up.

The All-Share Index (ASI) inched higher by 1.39 points to 149,437.88 points from last Friday’s 149,436.48 points and the market capitalisation was up by N3 billion to finish at N95.267 trillion compared with the previous trading session’s N95.264 trillion.

The financial services space was upbeat yesterday, with the banking index gaining 0.89 per cent and the insurance counter rising by 0.87 per cent.

However, the consumer goods segment performance badly, losing 0.79 per cent as the energy sector declined by 0.05 per cent, while the commodity and the industrial goods indices closed flat.

Business Post reports that investor sentiment was bullish during the session as there were 28 appreciating stocks and 23 depreciating stocks, representing a positive market breadth index.

Sovereign Trust Insurance led the gainers’ gang after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to sell for N3.74, Guinness Nigeria appreciated by 9.96 per cent to N239.50, Mecure Industries rose by 9.88 per cent to N41.70, First Holdco improved by 9.86 per cent to N34.55, and AIICO Insurance also expanded by 9.86 per cent to N3.79.

The losers’ group was led by Prestige Assurance after it gave up 10.00 per cent to finish at N1.53, FTN Cocoa lost 8.16 per cent to trade at N4.50, Guinea Insurance depreciated by 7.69 per cent to N1.08, Royal Exchange crashed by 7.25 per cent to N1.79, and Nigerian Breweries slipped by 6.86 per cent to N76.75.

A total of 553.2 million shares valued at N13.3 billion were transacted in 28,907 deals on Monday versus the 602.8 million shares worth N30.7 billion traded in 20,550 deals last Friday, indicating a shortfall in the trading volume and value by 8.23 per cent and 56.68 per cent apiece, and an improvement in the number of deals by 40.67 per cent.

FCMB was the most active stock with a turnover of 92.0 million equities valued at N964.0 million, Access Holdings sold 67.9 million shares for N1.4 billion, Consolidated Hallmark transacted 50.8 million equities worth N208.8 million, Fidelity Bank exchanged 35.8 million shares valued at N672.4 million, and Jaiz Bank traded 29.7 million stocks worth N134.1 million.