Economy
Bargain Hunters Take Charge as Equities Gain N236b
By Dipo Olowookere
After 10 consecutive days of sell-offs, especially by the foreign portfolio investors, the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) got back to the green territory on Friday.
This was as a result of activities of bargain hunters at the market, who ensured that the last trading day of this week ended positive.
Though the stock market fell by 0.51 percent this week, the local bourse recorded a growth of 1.87 percent yesterday, reducing the year-to-date returns to -7.78 percent.
Gains recorded by Dangote Cement and 14 other counters were enough to lift the market on Friday despite the price depreciation recorded by 24 equities trading at the Nigerian stock market.
At the close of transactions yesterday, N14 was added to the share price of Dangote Cement to settle at N220 per share.
Unilever Nigeria, which followed Dangote Cement on the price gainers’ chart, increased by N2 to finish at N55 per share, while Newrest ASL Nigeria grew by 40 kobo to close at N4.45k per share.
Cutix appreciated on Friday by 10 kobo to end at N4.18k per share, while Forte Oil went up by 15 kobo to settle at N23.15k per share.
Conversely, Dangote Sugar recorded the highest price fall yesterday after losing 30 kobo to close at N14.80k per share.
NAHCO depreciated by 26 kobo to end at N3.73k per share, while Union Bank of Nigeria went down by 15 kobo to settle at N5.55k per share.
Eterna Oil declined by 10 kobo to close at N6.30k per share, while Zenith Bank also depreciated by 10 kobo to finish at N22.85k per share.
Business Post reports that financial stocks dominated trading on Friday, accounting for 315.2 million units worth N1.9 billion, while consumer goods stocks followed with 23.7 million units exchanged for N437 million.
A further breakdown indicated that NEM Insurance topped the activity chart by volume, selling 130.5 million units of stocks for N521.4 million.
Axa Mansard traded 94.5 million shares valued at N241 million, while Transcorp sold 17.4 million shares worth N19.6 million.
Zenith Bank exchanged 15.9 million equities for N363.3 million, while Champion Breweries transacted 10.2 million shares for N17.4 million.
In all, the total volume of shares traded at the market on Friday increased by 57.40 percent from 237.8 million to 374.3 million, while the total value went down by 11.93 percent from N3.1 billion to N2.7 billion.
Looking at the major market indicators, it was observed that the All-Share Index (ASI) increased on Friday by 649.17 points to settle at 35,266.29 points, while the market capitalisation jumped by N236 billion to close at N12.875 trillion.
Investors will hope that Friday’s momentum is sustained when the market return on Monday for business ahead of the two-day public holiday declared for Tuesday and Wednesday for Eid-el-Kabir.
Economy
BNB Price Reflects Changing Dynamics in the Digital Asset Market
Economy
NASD Unlisted Security Index Crosses 4,000-point Benchmark Again
By Adedapo Adesanya
The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange achieved a milestone on Friday, April 24, 2026, after five securities on the platform helped with a 1.85 per cent growth.
Data showed that the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) again crossed the 4,000-point benchmark yesterday.
The index chalked up 73.64 points during the trading day to close at 4,052.59 points compared with the preceding session’s 3,978.95 points, while the market capitalisation added N5.38 billion to finish at N2.424 trillion versus Thursday’s closing value of N2.380 trillion.
The price gainers were led by Okitipupa Plc, which grew by N25.00 to sell at N305.00 per share compared with the previous price of N280.00 per share. Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc gained N6.92 to close at N76.26 per unit versus N69.34 per unit, Afriland Properties Plc appreciated by N1.00 to N17.00 per share from N18.00 per share, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc improved by 55 Kobo to N99.55 per unit from N99.00 per unit, and Food Concepts Plc increased by 5 Kobo to N2.70 per share from N2.65 per share.
However, there was a price loser, MRS Oil, which dipped by N21.75 to N195.75 per unit from N217.50 per unit.
During the final session of the week, the value of securities jumped 75.2 per cent to N41.3 million from N23.6 million units, and the number of deals expanded by 62.9 per cent to 44 deals from 27 deals, while the volume of securities declined marginally by 0.9 per cent to 447,403 units from 451,522 units.
At the close of trades, Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc was the most traded stock by volume (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, trailed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units valued at N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.
GNI was also the most active stock by value (year-to-date) with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 59.6 million units transacted for N4.0 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.8 million units exchanged for N1.9 billion.
Economy
Naira Slips to N1,358/$1 as FX Reserves, Policy Uncertainty Concerns
By Adedapo Adesanya
It was not a good day for the Nigerian Naira in the currency market on Friday, April 24, as its value depreciated against the major foreign currencies at the close of transactions.
In the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX), it lost N4.53 or 0.33 per cent against the United States Dollar yesterday to trade at N1,358.44/$1, in contrast to the N1,353.91/$1 it was exchanged on Thursday.
Equally, the domestic currency slipped against the Pound Sterling in the official market during the session by N8.14 to close at N1,834.02/£1, compared with the previous rate of N1,825.88/£1 and dropped N8.01 against the Euro to sell at N1,590.73/€1 versus N1,582.72/€1.
Also, the Naira depreciated against the US Dollar at the GTBank FX desk on Friday by N4 to quote at N1,370/$1 compared with the previous session’s N1,366/$1, and at the parallel market, it depleted by N5 to settle at N1,380/$1 versus the preceding day’s N1,375/$1.
Data published by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) indicated that NFEM interbank turnover surged to N43.562 million across 68 deals, up from N28.117 million the previous day.
Despite the CBN’s reassurance that the recent drop in external reserves is not worrisome, the market remains unsettled by persistent concerns over liquidity constraints, policy transparency, and weakening confidence in Nigeria’s FX market as gross reserves continue to decline to $48.4 billion.
The outlook for the Dollar appears supported by broader macro risks, including elevated oil prices tied to the tanker traffic disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz and a continued US-Iran standoff over ceasefire negotiations.
A look at the digital currency market showed that investors are sitting on the edge as the US Dollar rebounded amid geopolitical and inflation risks despite continued inflows into US spot bitcoin Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs).
Solana (SOL) rose by 1.2 per cent to sell $86.45, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 1.1 per cent to $0.2517, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 0.9 per cent to $0.0989, Ripple (XRP) improved by 0.3 per cent to $1.43, Ethereum (ETH) soared by 0.2 per cent to $2,316.83, and Binance Coin (BNB) chalked up 0.1 per cent to sell for $637.44.
However, TRON (TRX) depreciated by 1.3 per cent to $0.3235, and Bitcoin (BTC) lost 0.2 per cent to close at $77,562.27, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) closed flat at $1.00 each.
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