Economy
NSE Index Drops to 10-Month Low as Market Capitalisation Falls to N12tr
By Dipo Olowookere
The Nigerian stock market suffered its biggest loss in over two months on Friday, closing 2.17 lower when activities were brought to an end.
The last time the market posted a decline of more than 2 percent was on June 1, 2018, when a 3.38 percent loss was recorded on that trading day.
Business Post reports that at the close of transactions yesterday, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE)’s All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 786.19 points to finish at 35,446.47 points, its lowest level since October 2017.
Also, the market capitalisation, which shows the total value of stocks listed on the exchange, reduced by N287 billion to settle at N12.941 trillion against the N13.228 trillion it finished on Thursday.
Business Post reports that the stock market did not record any gain this week as all the five trading days closed in red. This is as the political tension in the country continues to scare portfolio investors away from the market, who are taking profit as there are no positive news to cheer them up.
However, the volume of shares transacted by investors increased on Friday by 2.52 percent to 193 million from 188.3 million on Thursday, while the value of equities traded surged by 57.44 percent to N2 billion from N1.3 billion.
But the market breadth ended negative yesterday with a total of 25 stocks depreciating in value compared with the 14 equities that appreciated at the close of business.
Dangote Cement recorded the biggest loss at the market after going down by N14 to settle at N214 per share.
It was followed by Total Nigeria, which went down by N5 to close at N185 per share, and Lafarge, which lost N1.90k to finish at N28 per share.
GlaxoSmithKline reduced by N1.70k to end at N15.30k per share, while Ecobank decreased by N1.10k to close at N21.05k per share.
At the other end, Mobil Oil Nigeria recorded the biggest price appreciating after increased its share value by N6 to finish at N176 per share.
International Breweries garnered N1 to close at N32 per share, while Eterna grew by 45 kobo to settle at N6.55k per share.
FBN Holdings went up by 10 kobo to end at N9.60k per share, while Oando also gained 10 kobo to finish at N5.55k per share.
The banking sector led the activity chart yesterday with a total of 92.5 million shares worth N980 million traded by investors.
It was followed by the insurance sector, which sold 21.1 million equities valued at N6.8 million, and the diversified industries, which traded 19 million shares worth N27.2 million.
A further breakdown showed that United Bank for Africa (UBA) emerged the most traded stock, selling 52.1 million units worth N496.2 million.
Transcorp exchanged 18.5 million shares valued at N21.6 million, while Courtville transacted 14.7 million equities for N3.1 million.
Oando sold 12.2 million shares for N66.9 million, while Zenith Bank traded 11.8 million equities valued at N279.1 million.
With the Nigerian stock market, which gained 42 percent in 2017, already losing 7.31 percent this year, investors would hope things change for good next week.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange extended its stay in the south territory with a decline of 0.56 per cent on Wednesday, April 2.
This brought down the market capitalisation by N13 billion to N2.417 trillion from N2.430 trillion, and downed the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) by 22.57 points to 4,062.87 points from the previous session’s 4,062.87 points.
It was observed that the NASD exchange ended with three price gainers and three price losers during the trading day.
MRS Oil Plc depreciated by N19.00 to close at N171.00 per unit compared with the previous price of N190.00 per unit, NASD Plc lost N4.14 to trade at N37.36 per share compared with Wednesday’s N41.50 per share, and Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gave up N2.00 to sell at N78.00 per unit versus N80.00 per unit.
On the flip side, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc appreciated by 19 Kobo to N93.00 per share from N92.81 per share, Food Concepts Plc expanded by 15 Kobo to N2.87 per unit from N2.72 per unit, and Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc improved by 2 Kobo to 52 Kobo per share from 50 Kobo per share.
Yesterday, the volume of securities dipped by 91.8 per cent to 260.2 million units from 3.2 billion units, the value of securities went down by 98.1 per cent to N154.2 million from N8.3 billion, while the number of deals soared by 53.3 per cent to 46 deals from 30 deals.
GNI Plc was the most active stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 56.9 million units valued at N3.9 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.5 million units traded for N1.8 billion.
The most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis was also GNI Plc with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.2 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units exchanged for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units transacted for N1.2 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira dropped N2.09 or 0.15 per cent against the United States Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, April 2, to trade at N1,380.79/$1 compared with Wednesday’s rate of N1,378.70/$1.
However, it appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the official market by N2.77 to quote at N1,824.86/£1 versus the N1,836.57/£1 it was traded at midweek, and improved its value against the Euro by N10.54 to N1,591.92/€1 from N1,602.46/€1.
Yesterday was the last trading session of the week for the local currency in the spot market, as the market will be closed on Friday and Monday for the Easter Holiday.
At the black market, the Nigerian Naira maintained stability against the greenback yesterday at N1,405/$1, but gained N8 at the GTBank FX counter to settle at N1,388/$1, in contrast to the previous session’s N1,396/$1.
Pressure eased on the domestic currency as strong policy indicators have helped calm the majority of worries within the financial systems. Particularly in the remittance segment, the apex bank has directed all International Money Transfer Operators (IMTOs) to route remittance transactions through designated Naira settlement accounts in banks, a move aimed at boosting transparency and channelling more foreign exchange into the formal market.
This helps take off pressure from the foreign reserves, which have fallen below the $50 billion mark as they are gradually decreasing rather than falling sharply.
Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market was bullish on Thursday, as macro sentiment shifted against recent optimism after reports that Iran is drafting a protocol with Oman to manage traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, easing concerns about disruptions to a key global oil route.
The remarks came after U.S. President Trump on Wednesday night vowed to hit Iran “extremely hard” in the coming weeks and that the Strait of Hormuz would “open naturally” once the war ends.
Cardano (ADA) chalked up 1.9 per cent to trade at $0.2435, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 1.2 per cent to $0.0912, Ethereum (ETH) appreciated by 0.8 per cent to $2,066.37, Bitcoin (BTC) added 0.5 per cent to sell at $67,080.53, Solana (SOL) increased by 0.5 per cent to $79.91, and Ripple (XRP) jumped 0.2 per cent to $1.31.
Conversely, Binance Coin (BNB) dipped 0.7 per cent to $586.90, and TRON (TRX) depreciated by 0.3 per cent to $0.3147, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market was relatively flat on Friday, as the bears and the bulls shared the spoils of war, though investor sentiment turned bullish compared with the preceding session’s bearish posture.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the All-Share Index (ASI) was marginally down by 4.66 points as it ended at 201,698.89 points versus Wednesday’s 201,703.55 points, and the market capitalisation slightly contracted by N3 billion to N129.806 trillion from N129.809 trillion.
Customs Street was shut on Friday because of the public holidays declared by the federal government today and next Monday.
Business Post reports that John Holt declined by 9.91 per cent to N15.45, Abbey Mortgage Bank shed 9.60 per cent to trade at N8.95, International Energy Insurance slipped by 6.48 per cent to N3.32, Chams shrank by 5.30 per cent to N3.75, and Tantalizers depreciated by 5.18 per cent to N4.03.
On the flip side, Unilever Nigeria improved by 10.00 per cent to N103.40, Fortis Global Insurance gained 9.82 per cent to trade at N1.23, Multiverse appreciated 9.81 per cent to N20.15, Legend Internet advanced by 9.38 per cent to N6.30, and Zichis grew by 9.02 per cent to N14.14.
The market breadth index was positive during the trading session, as there were 35 appreciating stocks and 24 depreciating stocks.
Yesterday, investors traded 560.0 million equities valued at N19.3 billion in 49,676 deals, in contrast to the 815.5 million equities worth N33.3 billion transacted in 52,641 deals in the preceding day, representing a drop in the trading volume, value, and number of deals by 31.33 per cent, 42.04 per cent, and 5.63 per cent, respectively.
Secure Electronic Technology dominated the activity log with 59.7 million shares valued at N61.1 million, Wema Bank exchanged 52.0 million equities worth N1.4 billion, VFD Group transacted 36.0 million stocks for N410.5 million, Access Holdings sold 35.3 million shares valued at N914.8 million, and Chams traded 31.0 million equities worth N115.0 million.
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