By Adedapo Adesanya

Six price gainers lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 2.09 per cent on Monday, February 9, amid a surge in activity level.

According to data, the volume of securities significantly increased by 3,499.1 per cent to 13.3 million units from the 384,784 units recorded in the preceding trading session, as the value of securities soared by 518.0 per cent to N99.3 million from N16.1 million, and the number of deals moved up by 95.8 per cent to 47 deals from the preceding session’s 24 deals.

Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc ended the day as the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 16.9 million units exchanged for N699.9 million, followed by Geo-Fluids Plc with 23.2 million units valued at N123.6 million, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc with 1.8 million units traded for N118.5 million.

However, Geo-Fluids Plc became the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 23.2 million units worth N123.6 million, as CSCS Plc was pushed down the pecking order as second with 16.9 million units transacted for N699.9 million, while Mass Telecom Innovation Plc sold 15.1 million units for N6.1 million.

The price gainers were led yesterday by Okitipupa Plc after it gained N17.00 to trade at N237.00 per share versus the previous price of N220.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc added N6.00 to sell at N66.00 per unit versus N60.00 per unit, and CSCS Plc grew by N5.35 to N58.85 per share from N53.50 per share.

Further, IPWA Plc appreciated by 23 Kobo to N2.59 per unit from N2.36 per unit, UBN Property Plc increased its value by 19 Kobo to N2.19 per share from N2.00 per share, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc advanced by 5 Kobo to 59 Kobo per unit from 54 Kobo per unit.

However, Nipco Plc lost N9.00 on Monday to close at N250.00 per share versus last Friday’s price of N259.00 per share, and Geo-Fluids Plc dipped by 22 Kobo to N4.08 per unit from N4.30 per unit.

At the close of business, the market capitalisation of the bourse was up by N46.2 billion to N2.253 trillion from N2.207 trillion, and the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) jumped 77.22 points to 3,766.94 points from 3,689.72 points.

By Adedapo Adesanya

The first trading of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended bullish for the Naira as it gained N11.93 or 0.87 per cent against the US Dollar on Monday, February 9, to trade at N1,354.26/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,366.19/$1.

It also appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N12.03 to settle at N1,845.72/£1 versus last Friday’s closing price of N1,857.75/£1, but depreciated against the Euro by 69 Kobo to quote at N1,613.19/€1, in contrast to the N1,612.52/€1 it was exchanged last Friday.

At the GTBank forex desk, the Nigerian Naira appreciated against the Dollar yesterday by N4 to close at N1,379/$1 versus the previous rate of N1,383/$1, and at the parallel market, it was flat at N1,450/$1.

The fortification of the Nigerian currency in the currency market on Monday was driven by forex liquidity, strong oil receipts, and flows from foreign investors attracted by the high yields on the country’s debt market.

Speaking at a forum on Monday, the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mr Yemi Cardoso, declared that the bank’s reforms have established economic stability, evidenced by a significant reduction in inflation and growing external reserves, which he stated stood at $49 billion as of February 5, 2026.

He also highlighted the stability of the FX market, noting that the CBN is now accumulating foreign exchange from the market to enhance sustainability.

“By that, I mean that we now allow the market to generally find its level; many times, the Central Bank itself goes in to buy foreign exchange. The premium between the official and parallel market rates has collapsed to under 2 per cent,” Mr Cardoso stated.

The CBN chief said the reforms of the monetary authority—anchored on disinflation, FX market normalisation, and financial-system resilience—are already strengthening real-sector confidence.

As for the cryptocurrency market, it was in a recovery mode as investors took advantage of the drop in prices to add to their portfolios.

The pullback followed a turbulent few days in which Bitcoin (BTC) plunged to as low as $60,000 before rebounding. It rose 0.5 per cent on Monday to $70,415.57, as Ethereum (ETH) gained 0.9 per cent to trade at $2,116.42.

Further, Ripple (XRP) improved by 1.4 per cent to $1.44, Litecoin (LTC) expanded by 0.8 per cent to $54.66, Solana (SOL) grew by 0.5 per cent to $87.11, and Cardano (ADA) added 0.2 per cent to settle at $0.2704.

On the flip side, Binance Coin (BNB) slumped 0.6 per cent to $638.34, and Dogecoin (DOGE) weakened by 0.3 per cent to $0.0963, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 apiece.

By Dipo Olowookere

It was a positive start to the week for stock investors in Nigeria as they grew their wealth by 1.29 per cent on Monday amid a hunt for dividend-paying equities.

Business Post reports that three of the five sectoral indices ended in green, with the industrial goods space leading with a 4.76 per cent appreciation, and the energy counter up by 1.29 per cent, while the consumer goods index gained 0.74 per cent.

However, due to profit-taking in the financial services ecosystem yesterday, the banking counter went down by 0.04 per cent, and the insurance sector lost 0.03 per cent.

When the closing gong was struck, the All-Share Index (ASI) soared by 2,218.73 points to 173,946.22 points from 171,727.49 points, and the market capitalisation surged by N1.424 trillion to N111.659 trillion from N110.235 trillion.

The trio of May and Baker, CAP, and DAAR Communications improved by 10.00 per cent during the session to close at N43.45, N90.20, and N2.09 apiece, while RT Briscoe gained 9.98 per cent to trade at N13.89, with Deap Capital growing by 9.97 per cent to N7.50.

Conversely, Eunisell lost 9.98 per cent to settle at N134.85, Tripple Gee slumped by 8.90 per cent to N6.65, Abbey Mortgage Bank crashed by 8.03 per cent to N13.75, Austin Laz declined by 7.41 per cent to N5.00, and Haldane McCall slipped by 6.56 per cent to N3.99.

On the first trading day of the week, 59 stocks ended on the advancers’ log, and 26 stocks finished on the laggards’ table, representing a positive market breadth index and strong investor sentiment.

Despite the gains, the activity level waned on Monday as the trading volume and value decreased by 18.73 per cent and 35.27 per cent, respectively, while the number of deals increased by 29.32 per cent.

A total of 775.2 million equities worth N27.9 billion exchanged hands in 65,960 deals yesterday compared with the 953.8 million equities valued at N43.1 billion traded in 51,005 deals last Friday.

Access Holdings was the busiest stock for the session with a turnover of 67.1 million units worth N1.6 billion, Zenith Bank sold 46.2 million units valued at N3.4 billion, Secure Electronic Technology traded 43.9 million units for N47.9 million, Veritas Kapital exchanged 39.4 million units worth N91.6 million, and Mutual Benefits transacted 33.9 million units valued at N145.7 million.