Economy
Investors Trade 782.2m Shares of Wema Bank, Zenith Bank, First Bank in One Week
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
Last week, there were huge interests in the shares of Wema Bank, Zenith Bank and FBN Holdings on the floor of the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
For Zenith Bank, it was as a result of the N2.70 dividend its board recommended for the 2020 financial year and investors wanted a share of the goodie.
At the close of the week, the three companies traded 782.2 million units worth N8.9 billion executed in 4,624 deals, contributing 40.52 per cent and 43.15 per cent to the total equity turnover volume and value respectively.
According to data from the exchange, a total of 1.9 billion stocks worth N20.7 billion exchanged hands in 24,687 deals last week compared with the 1.5 billion shares worth N18.2 billion transacted the preceding week in 22,752 deals.
It was discovered that financial equities accounted for 1.5 billion units valued at N15.1 billion traded in 14,236 deals, contributing 75.11 per cent and 72.96 per cent to the trading volume and value respectively.
Shares in the conglomerates sector accounted for 154.9 million units worth N179.7 million in 798 deals, while equities in the consumer goods industry contributed 111.8 million units valued at N2.3 billion carried out in 3,865 deals.
A total of 19 stocks appreciated in price during the week, lower than 39 stocks of the earlier week, while 44 shares depreciated in price, higher than 33 shares of the preceding week, with 99 equities closing flat, higher than 90 equities recorded in the previous week.
The best-performing stock for the week was Academy Press as its equity price moved up by 17.14 per cent to 41 kobo per share.
Oando gained 12.38 per cent to sell for N3.45 per share, UPDC appreciated by 9.35 per cent to N5.85 per share, Chams rose by 9.09 per cent to 24 kobo per share, while Royal Exchange gained 8.00 per cent to close at 27 kobo per share.
The worst-performing stock last week was Lasaco Assurance as it depreciated by 26.79 per cent to settle at N1.23 per share.
Africa Prudential lost 21.23 per cent to sell for N5.75 per share, Sunu Assurances fell by 18.52 per cent to 66 kobo per share, Champion Breweries declined by 15.15 per cent to N2.52 per share, while Niger Insurance lost 13.04 per cent to trade at 20 kobo per share.
Business Post reports that in the week, the All-Share Index and market capitalisation depreciated by 0.96 per cent to 39,799.89 points and N20.823 trillion respectively.
Similarly, all other indices finished lower with the exception of the banking, NSE AFR Bank Value, NSE MERI Growth and oil/gas indices, which rose by 0.69 per cent, 1.34 per cent, 0.66 per cent and 0.97 per cent while the NSE ASeM and NSE Growth indices closed flat.
By Dipo Olowookere
A 0.30 per cent fall was recorded by the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday as a result of profit-taking in the industrial goods sector.
This was mainly caused by sell-offs in Dangote Cement Plc, which released its financial statements for the first quarter of 2025 yesterday.
The cement maker lost 10.00 per cent during the session to trade at N432.00, Regency Alliance lost 8.06 per cent to close at 57 Kobo, VFD Group depreciated by 7.57 per cent to N17.10, Chams declined by 7.27 per cent to N2.04, and Sovereign Trust Insurance crashed by 6.12 per cent to 92 Kobo.
Conversely, International Breweries, Legend Internet, and Ikeja Hotel gained 10.00 per cent each to sell for N7.70, N6.82, and N12.10 apiece, Vitafoam Nigeria surged by 9.93 per cent to N44.85, and Eterna rose by 9.92 per cent to N39.90.
The industrial goods index was down by 4.73 per cent on Friday, as the others finished in green territory.
The consumer goods space rose by 2.21 per cent, the banking sector appreciated by 1.55 per cent, the insurance counter expanded by 1.50 per cent, the energy sector increased by 0.07 per cent, and the commodity industry went up by 0.04 per cent.
At the close of transactions, the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 321.21 points to 105,753.05 points from 106,074.26 points and the market capitalisation shrank by N202 billion to N66.465 trillion from N66.667 trillion.
The level of activity increased yesterday as the trading volume, value, and number of deals grew by 30.40 per cent, 94.23 per cent, and 17.64 per cent, respectively.
This was because investors transacted 428.1 million shares worth N20.2 billion in 14,284 deals compared with the 328.3 million shares valued at N10.4 billion in traded in 12,142 deals a day earlier.
GTCO led the activity chart with 60.7 million equities sold for N3.8 billion, Fidelity Bank traded 41.4 million stocks worth N829.3 million, Access Holdings exchanged 40.6 million shares valued at N968.3 million, MTN Nigeria sold 33.0 million equities for N8.2 billion, and Zenith Bank transacted 22.9 million stocks worth N1.1 billion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Naira extended its gains against the US Dollar in the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) on Friday, April 25 by 0.22 per cent or N3.59 to sell for N1,599.42/$1 compared with the N1,603.01/$1 it was traded in the previous session.
The Nigerian currency also improved its value against the Euro in the official market by N1.36 to close at N1,818.53/€1 compared with Thursday’s closing price of N1,819.89/€1.
However, the domestic currency depreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N1.90 to wrap the session at N2,130.44/£1 versus the preceding session’s rate of N2,128.50/£1.
At the black market segment, the Naira appreciated against the greenback on Friday by N2 to quote at N1,605/$1, in contrast to the previous day’s value of N1,607/$1.
In the cryptocurrency market, a possible regulatory progress about digital assets in the US spurred buying interest among investors during the trading session.
The chairman of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Mr Paul Atkins, was at a crypto roundtable on Friday and he devoted his inaugural speech to assuring the industry that he will continue to remake securities policy to favor digital assets innovation.
Litecoin (LTC) rose by 3.0 per cent to $87.24, Dogecoin (DOGE) grew by 2.7 per cent to $0.1862, Bitcoin (BTC) increased by 1.3 per cent to $94,687.84, Ethereum (ETH) jumped by 1.2 per cent to $1,797.51, Cardano (ADA) improved by 0.9 per cent to $0.7235, and Ripple (XRP) gained 0.6 per cent to close at $2.20.
On the flip side, Solana (SOL) depreciated by 0.9 per cent to $151.64, and Binance Coin (BNB) lost 0.8 per cent to sell for $602.89, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) remained unchanged at $1.00 each.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The crude oil market edged higher on Friday despite pressures from market expectations of oversupply and uncertainty around tariff talks between the US and China.
Brent crude futures grew by 32 cents to settle at $66.87 a barrel, and the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures gained 23 cents to sell for $63.02 a barrel.
China exempted some U.S. imports from its steep tariffs, a sign on Friday that the trade war between the world’s top two economies could be easing.
However, China quickly knocked down US President Donald Trump’s assertion that negotiations were underway.
It was reported that China has allowed some US-made pharmaceuticals to enter the country without paying the 125 per cent duties that was imposed earlier this month in response to President Trump’s 145 per cent tariffs on Chinese imports.
Reuters reported that a list of 131 product categories said to be under consideration for exemptions was circulating among some businesses and trade groups. However, China has not yet communicated publicly on the issue.
This comes as President Trump’s administration has also in recent days signaled it is looking to defuse the tension with China.
Trump’s tariffs dominated discussions at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) meetings this week, where finance ministers angled for one-on-one meetings with the U.S. treasury secretary.
As the market fears about the demand side of things, there are indications that supply might rise.
Several members of the Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and its allies (OPEC+) have suggested the group accelerate oil output increases for a second month in June.
Earlier this month, OPEC+ decided to increase output by 411,000 barrels per day of oil in May, which was three times more than the group originally planned.
Eight OPEC+ countries will meet on May 5 to decide the June output plan.
Possible ease in the war in Ukraine also has the potential to add to supplies if it allows more Russian oil to reach global markets.
There was a three-hour meeting on Friday between Russian President Vladimir Putin and President Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff. It was reported that the meeting was constructive and narrowed differences when it came to ending the war in Ukraine.
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