Economy
11 Stocks Gain in One Week, 46 Led by NASCON Fall
By Dipo Olowookere
The local stock market struggled last week as investors’ appetite for the asset class waned due to high inflation, which equities have been unable to close the gap on.
Data from the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited showed that in the four-day trading week, the All-Share Index (ASI) depreciated by 3.41 per cent to close at 47,351.43 points, while market capitalisation decreased by 2.50 per cent to settle at N25.791 trillion.
Similarly, all other indices finished lower except ASeM, growth and sovereign bond indices which closed flat.
Business Post reports that investor sentiment was weak as the market breadth closed negative with 11 price gainers and 46 price losers. In the previous week, the shares on the green side were 25 and on the red side were 33. However, 100 equities closed flat in contrast to the 98 equities recorded in the previous week.
NASCON lost 13.64 per cent to trade at N9.50, Cornerstone Insurance depreciated by 10.71 per cent to 50 Kobo, while the trio of Neimeth, May & Baker and Airtel Africa fell by 10.00 per cent each to close at N1.26, N3.69, and N1,800.00, respectively.
On the flip side, Multiverse recorded the highest increase, 21.95 per cent, to close at N4.50. Geregu Power improved by 20.90 per cent to N120.90, Livestock Feeds rose by 11.76 per cent to N1.14, Cutix jumped by 5.88 per cent to N2.16, while AIICO Insurance expanded by 5.77 per cent to sell for N55 kobo.
The exchange opened its doors to traders for only four days last week due to the Independence Day holiday observed last Monday.
The most active stocks were GTCO, Sterling Bank and Zenith Bank, transacting 239.637 million units worth N3.546 billion in 4,375 deals, contributing 40.83 per cent and 40.13 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively.
By sector, the financial services industry led the activity chart by volume, with 393.814 million shares valued at N4.660 billion traded in 9,168 deals, contributing 67.1 per cent and 52.73 per cent to the total trading volume and value, respectively. The ICT space followed with 48.178 million shares worth N1.203 billion in 1,294 deals, while the third place was the conglomerates’ sector, with a turnover of 40.135 million shares worth N44.406 million in 513 deals.
When the bourse finished for the week last Friday, investors traded 586.939 million shares worth N8.837 billion in 17,183 deals, lower than the 1.005 billion shares valued at N10.406 billion traded in 17,844 deals a week earlier.
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.
-
Feature/OPED6 years agoDavos was Different this year
-
Travel/Tourism10 years ago
Lagos Seals Western Lodge Hotel In Ikorodu
-
Showbiz3 years agoEstranged Lover Releases Videos of Empress Njamah Bathing
-
Banking8 years agoSort Codes of GTBank Branches in Nigeria
-
Economy3 years agoSubsidy Removal: CNG at N130 Per Litre Cheaper Than Petrol—IPMAN
-
Banking3 years agoSort Codes of UBA Branches in Nigeria
-
Banking3 years agoFirst Bank Announces Planned Downtime
-
Sports3 years agoHighest Paid Nigerian Footballer – How Much Do Nigerian Footballers Earn
