Economy
Banking Stocks Drag NSE Index Down by 0.77%
By Dipo Olowookere
Activities at the local bourse finished bearish again on Thursday as result of losses recorded by counters in the banking sector.
Late Wednesday, UBA and Access Bank finally released their much-awaited half year earnings and despite the impressive results churned out by the former, investors chose to react to the not-too impressive numbers of the latter.
At the close of transactions on Thursday, the banking index lost 1.77 percent as a result of losses recorded by the big players as well as the mid-level lenders in the sector.
On Wednesday evening, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) fined two of the financial institutions trading its shares on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) for forex infractions. They banks fined were Diamond Bank and Stanbic IBTC.
They were among the four lenders slapped with a fine of N5.9 billion for the illegal repatriation of about $14 billion for MTN Nigeria Communications Limited some years ago.
Also at the market yesterday, the industrial index depreciated by 2.30 percent just as the insurance sector fell by 1.48 percent.
By the time the market closed for the day, it was down by 0.77 percent, while the year-to-date returns finished at -8.25 percent.
Business Post reports that the All-Share Index (ASI) went down by 272.27 points to settle at 35,086.67 points, while the market capitalisation reduced by N10 billion to end at N12.809 trillion.
Just like the previous session, the market breadth closed negative yesterday with 12 price gainers and 27 price losers.
Lafarge Africa topped the losers’ chart with N1.80k of its share value lost yesterday to close at N23.70k per share.
It was followed by Forte Oil, which went down by N1.70k to finish at N20 per share, and Stanbic IBTC, which depreciated by N1.25k to end at N47.25k per share.
GTBank fell by N1.05k to close at N38 per share, while Dangote Cement declined by N1 to end at N228 per share.
On the flip side, Guinness Nigeria, which released it 2018 financial year results on Wednesday night, closed on Thursday better with N5 added to its share price, closing at N95 per share.
NEM Insurance, which has lately been getting attention of investors, appreciated by 30 kobo to close at N3.30k per share, while FBN Holdings went up by 10 kobo to end at N9.10k per share.
NASCON improved on Thursday by 5 kobo to settle at N20.05k per share, while AIICO Insurance also gained 5 kobo to finish at 75 kobo per share.
A look at the activity chart showed that while the volume of trades declined by 17.52 percent, the value increased by 51.94 percent.
Investors staked M3.5 billion on 284.6 million shares yesterday in 3,303 deals compared with the 345.1 million shares worth N2.3 billion transacted in 3,261 deals the previous day.
The impressive results released by UBA, coupled with the interim dividend it offered on Wednesday propelled investors rush its shares on Thursday, emerging the most traded stock at the market, trading 57.1 million units worth N452.3 million.
It was followed by NEM Insurance, which sold 45.3 million equities for N131.7 million, and Access Bank, which exchanged 30.7 million shares valued at N281.1 million.
Diamond Bank traded 17.2 million units of its stock for N21.7 million, while FCMB sold 16.4 million shares valued at N29.5 million.
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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