Economy
Equity Capitalisation Adds N39b as Oil $ Gas Sector Gains 1.82%
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian bourse closed the last trading day of the week yesterday on a positive note with the market rising by 0.26 percent at the close of business. This pushed the year-to-date returns forward to 7.27 percent.
Friday’s upward movement put a halt to the four-day losing streaks at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). It was the first gain at the market this week.
The growth also came despite the dismal 2017 results released yesterday by Diamond Bank Plc after much wait.
At the close of transactions on Friday, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 107.37 points to finish at 41,022.31 points, while the equity capitalisation increased by N38.9 billion to settle at N14.860 trillion.
It was observed that uptrend was across all sectors with the oil and gas gaining the most with 1.89 percent.
The banking sector appreciated by 0.59 percent, while the consumer goods industry slightly went up by 0.07 percent.
Business Post reports that the volume of shares traded by investors yesterday depreciated by 12.39 percent, but the valued slightly increased by 3.35 percent.
The trades, according to data harvested from the NSE, were dominated by the Financial Services sector with 169.5 million shares sold for N2.2 billion, followed by the Oil and Gas sector, which traded 9.9 million equities worth N395 million.
A breakdown showed that GTBank recorded the highest volume of trades yesterday with 25.9 million units exchanged for N1.2 billion.
It was followed by Zenith Bank, which sold 22.2 million shares for N629.3 million, and Sovereign Trust Insurance, which traded 19.8 million equities valued at N4 million.
Fidelity Bank transacted 16.9 million shares worth N42.1 million, while LASACO Assurance sold 10.6 million equities valued at N4.3 million.
In all, a total of 214.6 million shares were traded by investors on Friday worth N4.2 billion executed in 3,675 deals in contrast to the 244.9 million shares sold on Thursday in 3,804 deals valued at N4.1 billion.
A look at the price movement chart showed that Seplat emerged the biggest price riser, appreciating by N25 to close at N750 per share.
It was followed by Nestle Nigeria, which gained N10 to finish at N1580 per share, and Okomu Oil, which went up by N4.95k to settle at N90 per share.
Presco improved yesterday by N3.60k to finish at N75.60k per share, while CCNN grew by N1.95k to end at N29 per share.
On the flip side, it was a bad day for Lafarge as its shares declined by 90k to end the day at N41.10k per share.
Nigerian Breweries lost 80k to close at N124.50k per share, while Total Nigeria went down by 40k to end at N221.80k per share.
Furthermore, UAC of Nigeria shed 40k on Friday to settle at N17 per share, while GTBank dropped 25k of its share value to close at N44.25k per share.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Market bellwethers, Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc, lifted the NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange by 2.08 per cent on Monday, August 3.
CSCS Plc, the Nigerian securities depository company, gained N10.00 to close at N112.00 per share compared with the previous session’s N102.00 per share, and FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc advanced by N4.71 to quote at N152.64 per unit versus last Friday’s N147.93 per unit.
As a result, the NASD Security Index (NSI) added 92.14 points to finish at 4,523.85 points compared with the preceding session’s 4,431.71 points, and the market capitalisation appreciated by N55.31 billion to N2.715 trillion from N2.659 trillion.
Business Post reports that the price of MRS Oil Plc crashed during the trading day by N12.00 to N120.00 per share from N132.00 per share, and UBN Property Plc dipped by 3 Kobo to N1.90 per unit from N1.93 per unit.
Trading data showed that the volume of securities exchanged rose by 113.1 per cent to 1.5 million units from 690,990 units, and the number of deals climbed by 19.2 per cent to 31 deals from 26 deals, while the value of securities slid by 13.1 per cent to N65.2 million from N75.0 million.
Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc remained the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units valued at N8.4 billion, followed by Infrastructure Credit Guarantee (Infracredit) Plc with 2.3 billion units sold for N6.5 billion, and CSCS Plc with 76.8 million units traded for N5.5 billion.
GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis, with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Infracredit Plc with 2.3 billion units exchanged for N6.5 billion, and Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Revenue Service (NRS) has introduced a 1.5 per cent stamp duty on eligible virtual asset transactions, with the tax deducted directly from the cryptocurrency purchased before it is credited to the buyer’s wallet.
According to the new guidelines issued on Monday, anyone buying Bitcoin (BTC), USDT or other cryptocurrencies in Nigeria will receive fewer digital assets due to the deduction.
This requires registered crypto exchanges and other Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to withhold the levy in the digital asset being traded and remit it to the government, marking Nigeria’s most comprehensive move yet to bring cryptocurrency transactions into the country’s tax net.
Unlike traditional taxes deducted from a customer’s bank account, the 1.5 per cent charge will be taken from the cryptocurrency itself, meaning buyers will receive less Bitcoin, USDT or other tokens than they paid for.
The tax body stated that “income tax deducted at source and stamp duty shall be remitted to the service in the originating token of the transaction.”
Besides the new stamp duty, the guidelines also clarify how income tax, Value Added Tax (VAT) and other tax obligations will apply to virtual asset activities such as trading, staking, mining and other crypto-related transactions.
To illustrate the new rule, the tax authority said a buyer who pays N1 million for one Bitcoin will receive only 0.985 BTC after 0.015 BTC is deducted as stamp duty and remitted to the government. When that Bitcoin is later sold, the next buyer will also have 1.5 per cent deducted from the cryptocurrency credited to their wallet.
The NRS said the guidelines are intended to provide clarity for taxpayers, crypto exchanges, peer-to-peer (P2P) marketplace operators, financial institutions, tax consultants and all participants in Nigeria’s virtual asset ecosystem.
According to the guidelines, the 1.5 per cent duty applies to eligible virtual asset transactions facilitated through registered exchanges and other recognised intermediaries. Where a cryptocurrency is used to complete a transaction that already attracts stamp duty under the law, the applicable duty on the underlying instrument will also be payable.
For crypto users, the implication is higher transaction costs, as eligible purchases will attract the 1.5 per cent stamp duty, while VAT on exchange service fees and income tax on taxable gains may also apply, depending on the nature of the transaction.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira opened the week on a positive note, as it appreciated against the US Dollar by N3.39 or 0.25 per cent in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Monday, August 3, to N1,364.83/$1 from N1,368.22/$1 last Friday.
However, it suffered a marginal decline against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by 10 Kobo to close at N1,837.89/£1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,837.79/£1, and lost 6 Kobo on the Euro to sell at N1,573.93/€1, in contrast to the previous trading day’s N1,573.87/€1.
At the black market segment, the Nigerian currency traded flat against the Dollar yesterday at N1,405/$1, and at the GTBank forex counter, it was unchanged at N1,374/$1.
Interbank FX transactions increased sharply as market makers’ activities raised total Dollar volume exchanged to $137.048 million, more than 132 per cent above $58.990 million in turnover at the previous close. The surge in turnover was driven by increased deals at the NFEM window. The central bank reported that deal count at the interbank FX window rose to 138 from 67 on Friday.
As for the cryptocurrency market, major tokens advanced despite ongoing uncertainty around unresolved Coldcard wallet sweeps that have drained hundreds of Bitcoin (BTC), while traders are watching whether bitcoin can hold above $63,000 through the US session. BTC rose by 1.70 per cent to $63,765.88.
Bitcoin treasury firm Strategy disclosed Monday it sold 1,638 bitcoin for about $105 million between July 27 and Aug. 2, its third sale of 2026, per an SEC filing.
Also, an attacker has moved about 1,816 bitcoins, or roughly $114 million, from more than 5,200 addresses since July 30 in a fourth wave of sweeps targeting BTC in Coldcard-generated addresses.
Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 6.7 per cent to $0.1959, Binance Coin (BNB) gained 1.5 per cent to sell for $590.82, Solana (SOL) jumped by 1.3 per cent to $73.72, TRON (TRX) soared by 0.9 per cent to $0.3286, Dogecoin (DOGE) also grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0703, Ripple (XRP) advanced by 0.5 per cent to $1.07, and Ethereum (ETH) rose by 0.4 per cent to $1,863.33, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
