Economy
33 Stocks Paralyse NSE Index by 1.27% Monday
By Dipo Olowookere
The free fall at the stock market continued on Monday as equities of 33 companies listed on the bourse depreciated at the close of transactions against the five risers. This left the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) further paralysed by 1.27 percent, shrinking the year-to-date return to a mere 0.74 percent at the close of business.
The weakening of the exchange came despite an improvement in the trading activity. The volume of shares traded by investors rose by 1.83 percent to 429.0 million units from 421.3 million units.
Similarly, the value of trades increased by 31.44 percent to N7.3 billion from N5.6 billion, while the number of deals appreciated by 2.49 percent to 4,533 deals from 4,423 deals.
Business Post reports that the key sectors of the market closed in red, with the banking sector taking the lead after depreciating by 4.78 percent as a result of heavy selloffs.
The industrial counter lost 0.85 percent, consumer goods index fell by 0.72 percent, insurance sector declined by 0.47 percent, while the oil/gas counter depreciated by 0.45 percent.
The only five gainers at the market yesterday were Law Union and Rock Insurance, which gained 7 kobo to close at 80 kobo per share; May & Baker, which rose by 5 kobo to end at N1.87 per unit; Sterling Bank, which improved by 4 kobo to sell at N1.50 per unit; Linkage Assurance, which appreciated by 2 kobo to trade at 45 kobo per share; and Vitafoam, which garnered 1 kobo to quote at N4.51 per share.
At the other side, Julius Berger lost N1.60 to trade at N22.40 per unit, while Nigerian Breweries declined by N1.45 to quote at N47 per share. GTBank lost N1.05 to sell at N26.90 per share, Cadbury Nigeria fell by 90 kobo to settle at N8.20 per share, while Zenith Bank declined by 75 kobo to finish at N19.10 per share.
GTBank was the most traded stock at the market on Monday, selling 177.1 million units worth N4.8 billion, while FBN Holdings exchanged 60.1 million shares valued at N329.5 million.
Zenith Bank traded 56.2 million equities for N1.1 billion, UBA sold 39.2 million stocks for N267.2 million, while United Capital exchanged 18.5 million shares valued at N63.0 million.
When market activities were wrapped up yesterday, the All-Share Index (ASI) reduced significantly by 347.59 points to 27,041.03 points from 27,388.62 points, while the market capitalisation decreased by N181 billion to N14.087 trillion from N14.268 trillion.
By Adedapo Adesanya
Oil prices climbed about 2 per cent to a one-month high on Tuesday after the US reportedly reimposed a naval blockade on Iran, which will reduce oil flows from the region through the Strait of Hormuz.
Brent futures rose by $1.43 or 1.7 per cent to settle at $84.73 per barrel, while the US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude increased by $1.20 or 1.5 per cent to $79.34 a barrel.
Brent closed at its highest since June 12, and WTI at its highest since June 15. The closing price increase kept Brent in technically overbought territory for a second day in a row for the first time since March.
Before the Iran war, about 20 per cent of global oil supplies flowed through the strait.
US President Donald Trump stepped back from a proposal to charge a 20 per cent fee to guard the Strait of Hormuz as part of the conflict with Iran, saying he would instead seek investment deals with Gulf states.
US forces had carried out waves of attacks for the third night after Iran said it had closed the strait. President Trump on Monday reinstated a blockade of Iranian shipping and proposed the fee, but hours before the fee was to take effect, the American President said the strait was open to all shipping traffic except that of Iran.
The renewed attacks have fed doubts that a memorandum of understanding signed last month will lead to a permanent halt in the war that has disrupted global energy supplies and stoked inflation fears.
Data showed that US consumer inflation slowed more than expected in June as energy prices retreated, but financial markets still expect an interest rate hike from the Federal Reserve.
The Federal Reserve Chairman Kevin Warsh on Tuesday vowed to “do my job” if challenged by President Trump, who has said he wants the US central bank to cut interest rates and boost economic growth.
The American Petroleum Institute (API) estimated that crude oil inventories in the US fell by 564,000 barrels in the week ending July 10. In the week prior, US crude oil inventories fell by 399,000 barrels.
Although commercial crude oil inventories excluding the SPR have been falling rapidly for three months now, shedding just over 60 million barrels over the last twelve weeks, US crude inventories are only down 9.2 million barrels so far this year. The US Energy Information Administration (EIA) will release its report later on Wednesday.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) is seeking a reduction in import duty exemptions, which rose to N34 trillion, limiting its ability to increase its revenue generation threshold.
The Comptroller-General of the Customs Service, Mr Adewale Adeniyi, disclosed that the value of import duty exemption certificate approvals increased to that level in 2025, describing the policy as one of the major factors restricting its revenue generation.
At an investigative session of the Senate Committee on Finance with revenue-generating agencies in Abuja on Monday, Mr Adeniyi explained that government fiscal policies have continued to impact the revenue-generating capacity of the Customs Service, both positively and negatively.
“The NCS would have generated significantly higher revenue over the years if not for government-approved import duty waivers and other external factors affecting collections,” he said.
He added that the Import Duty Exemption Certificate scheme, introduced in March 2020, accounted for about N34 trillion in approvals in 2025, with nearly 60 per cent covering duty-free importation of military hardware due to Nigeria’s prevailing security challenges.
Other government-backed duty waivers, he noted, covered the importation of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG), electric and hybrid vehicles, healthcare equipment and medical supplies, industrial machinery and manufacturing inputs, as well as food import intervention programmes.
While acknowledging the impact of the waivers on Customs revenue, Mr Adeniyi argued that fiscal policy should not be assessed solely on the basis of revenue generation but also on its broader economic and social objectives.
He, however, urged the federal government to establish stronger monitoring mechanisms to ensure beneficiaries of duty waivers deliver the intended economic outcomes, including lower consumer prices, increased local production and improved healthcare access.
The committee also expressed displeasure over the absence of several heads of government agencies invited to the hearing, including the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), Industrial Training Fund (ITF), and the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Jabi.
The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance, Mr Sani Musa, warned that the affected chief executives must appear at the committee’s next sitting or face severe sanctions under the Senate’s rules.
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