Economy
NASD OTC Investors Profit N3.13bn Despite Tense Trading Week
By Adedapo Adesanya
Despite the trading week marred by tension following the escalation of the shooting of some peaceful protesters in the Lekki area of Lagos State, the NASD OTC Securities Exchange closed positive in the week 43.
The shooting of the demonstrators allegedly by the military led to the destruction of businesses and government properties in Lagos but in the midst of the confusion, the unlisted securities market gained N3.13 billion.
This boosted the NASD OTC market capitalization to N529.76 billion from N526.63 billion it closed in the preceding week and the positive performance pushed the NASD Unlisted Securities Index (NSI) higher by 0.6 per cent or 4.27 points to close the week at 721.19 points as against 716.92 points it ended in week 42.
The bullish outcome was from the price appreciation of two companies admitted on the exchange led by Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) Plc, which currently has a market capitalisation of N77.75 billion. The equity price of the firm closed the week at N15.55 per share after rising 4.01 per cent or 60 kobo. A week earkier, it ended at N14.95 per cent.
The second company with a price appreciation in the week was FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc, which has a market capitalisation of N122.32 billion. The share value of the company increased by 0.20 per cent or 25 kobo to settle at N125.29 per share as against the previous week’s closing price of N125.04 per share.
There was only one price loser in the week and this was Afriland Properties Plc, which currently holds a market capitalisation of N2.06 billion. The organisation ended the week at N1.42 per share as against the previous closing value of N1.50 per share, representing a price depreciation of 5.53 per cent or 8 kobo.
On the activity chart, there was a 91.5 per cent decrease in the total value of securities traded by investors during the week as trades worth N15.0 million were transacted in contrast to the previous week’s N176.3 million.
In a similar pattern, the volume of stocks traded during the week fell to 216,793 units from 29.7 million units in the previous week, indicating a 99.3 per cent decrease.
Also, there was a 53.9 per cent drop in the number of deals as only 12 deals were executed compared with the previous week’s 26 deals.
Business Post observed that the activity chart clearly showed one thing, cautious trading and this was because of the situation of things in the country during the week.
On a year-to-date basis, a total of 7.9 billion securities valued at N11.7 billion have been transacted by market participants in 1289 deals.
At the close of the trading week, FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc ranked top among the three most traded securities by volume with 106,550 units followed by CSCS Plc with 100,000 units while Afriland Properties Plc was the third for trading 10,243 units.
By value, FrieslandCampina Wamco Nigeria Plc was equally among the three most traded securities after trading N13.5 million. CSCS Plc trailed with N1.6 million while Afriland Properties Plc was the third for transacting N14,497.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira further slipped against the United States Dollar by N2.33 or 0.17 per cent to N1,364.88/$1 from N1,362.55/$1 in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Thursday, August 6.
In the same vein, the domestic currency weakened against the Pound Sterling in the official FX market by 71 Kobo yesterday to trade at N1,838.09/£1, in contrast to Wednesday’s value of N1,837.38/£1, but against the Euro, it gained 45 Kobo to close at N1,574.80/€1 compared with the previous day’s N1,575.25/€1.
At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira improved its value against the US Dollar by N4 on Thursday to quote at N1,369/$1 versus midweek”s rate of N1,373/$1, but at the parallel market, it remained unchanged at N1,400/$1.
The NAFEM interbank FX turnover jumped to $98.804 million on Thursday, up by more than 31 per cent from $75.357 million the previous day.
Similarly, the number of deals at the NFEM interbank increased to 106 from 82, confirming higher US Dollar flows at the official FX market.
Traders expect the Naira to hold steady, buoyed by dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), whose presence in the market will help ease demand pressure.
In the cryptocurrency market, major cryptocurrencies were mostly down as the Senate delayed a vote on the Crypto Clarity Act until at least September.
The bill, which would set out which U.S. regulator oversees which digital assets, needs 60 votes to pass, and it is unclear whether it currently has 50. Several Republican senators have said publicly they oppose it, and Democrats want stricter rules preventing President Donald Trump from profiting from crypto while in office.
Ripple (XRP) shrank by 2.5 per cent to $1.02, Solana (SOL) depleted by 1.5 per cent to $72.86, Binance Coin (BNB) fell by 1.4 per cent to $587.41, Dogecoin (DOGE) tumbled by 0.9 per cent to $0.0692, Bitcoin (BTC) decreased by 0.6 per cent to $64,344.69, and Ethereum (ETH) tumbled by 0.3 per cent to $1,902.03.
However, Cardano (ADA) appreciated by 7.7 per cent to $0.2025, and TRON (TRX) rose by 0.3 per cent to $0.3267, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 apiece.
By Dipo Olowookere
Buying interest in consumer goods, energy and banking stocks further raised the Customs Street by 0.12 per cent on Thursday despite profit-taking in the insurance and industrial goods sectors.
According to data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that the banking index grew by 0.62 per cent, the consumer goods space rose by 0.15 per cent, and the energy counter increased by 0.06 per cent, while the insurance sector crashed by 0.93 per cent, with the industrial goods segment flat.
At the close of business, the All-Share Index (ASI) went up by 297.10 points to 245,209.34 points from 244,912.24 points, and the market capitalisation gained N191 billion to finish at N158.278 trillion compared with the previous day’s N158.087 trillion.
Eterna led the gainers’ log yesterday after it chalked up 10.00 per cent to settle at N36.30, ACA Capital improved by 9.63 per cent to N11.95, Legend Internet expanded by 9.52 per cent to N4.60, FCMB jumped by 8.55 per cent to N12.70, and Honeywell Flour surged by 7.98 per cent to N17.60.
On the flip side, Fortis Global Insurance led the losers’ chart after it shed 10.00 per cent to trade at N2.52, Ecobank declined by 9.99 per cent to N72.10, Chellarams depleted by 9.85 per cent to N11.90, Thomas Wyatt dipped by 9.83 per cent to N3.21, and UPDC slipped by 8.45 per cent to N3.25.
During the trading day, 531.8 million shares worth N20.5 billion exchanged hands in 44,826 deals compared with the 824.1 million shares valued at N25.5 billion transacted in 48,114 deals on Wednesday.
This indicated that the volume of trades was down by 35.47 per cent, the value of transactions depreciated by 19.61 per cent, and the number of deals decreased by 6.83 per cent.
The busiest stock for the session was FCMB, which traded 131.7 million units for N1.6 billion, First Holdco transacted 43.5 million units worth N6.0 billion, AVA Capital exchanged 36.3 million units valued at N432.0 million, Chams traded 36.3 million units sold 36.3 million units valued at N149.8 million, and Access Holdings ended with a turnover of 24.4 million units worth N638.8 million.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Brent crude rose by 3.83 per cent or $3.04 to $82.29 per barrel on Thursday after an information that an Iranian parliament committee was reviewing a bill that would ban US and Israeli vessels from the Strait of Hormuz.
Also, the price of the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures went up by 81 cents or 1.05 per cent to $77.29 per barrel during the session.
Under the apparent draft, Iran would ban American and Israeli ships from transiting the strait. Other nations that have harmed Iran would not be allowed to transit until compensation is paid, according to the draft. Iran would impose penalties on violators equivalent to 20 per cent of the value of cargo aboard a ship.
Market analysts noted that crude traders remain focused on the US-Iran agreements, and the longer the delays, the more prices will fade back to the upside.
Iran has warned Gulf states that any new US attack on its territory would trigger attacks on critical energy infrastructure across the region.
Before the Iran conflict began in late February, about one-fifth of global daily oil and liquefied natural gas supplies flowed through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthis said they carried out missile and drone attacks on “Saudi deployments” in Marib and Hadramout in Yemen on Thursday. This has led to elimination of Saudi-aligned fighters as well as destruction of military camps, weapons depots and vehicles.’
Also, Iran and Oman appear to be close to agreeing on joint management of the Strait of Hormuz with Iran’s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, saying the deal with Oman was “in the final stages.”
Saudi Arabia has slightly lowered the official selling price for its flagship Arab Light crude oil to Asia in September.
Elsewhere, a major oil refinery in Russia’s Yaroslavl region was on fire after a big Ukrainian drone attack. The President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the country’s military had hit two Russian oil refineries – the Bashneft-Novoil refinery in the republic of Bashkortostan, and the Slavneft-Yanos refinery in the Yaroslavl region.
