Economy

Banking Stocks Drag NSE Index Down by 0.77%

Published

8 years ago

31/08/2018

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

FrieslandCampina Wamco, Three Others Raise NASD OTC Exchange by 1.41%

Published

40 minutes ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The NASD Over-the-Counter (OTC) Securities Exchange closed higher by 1.41 per cent on Friday, May 15, supported by four securities on the platform.

During the session, FrieslandCampina Wamco Plc added N14.24 to its share price to sell for N159.00 per unit, in contrast to the previous day’s N144.76 per unit.

Further, Central Securities and Clearing System (CSCS) Plc appreciated by N1.34 to N72.34 per share from N71.00 per share, Geo-Fluids Plc improved its price by 4 Kobo to N2.94 per unit from N2.90 per unit, and Industrial and General Insurance (IGI) Plc gained 1 Kobo to trade at 61 Kobo per share compared with Thursday’s closing price of 60 Kobo per share.

As a result, the NASD Unlisted Security Index (NSI) rose by 58.20 points to 4,188.41 points from 4,130.21 points, and the market capitalisation soared by N34.82 billion to N2.506 trillion from N2.471 trillion on Thursday.

During the session, the volume of trades went up by 180.8 per cent to 1.2 million units from 417,349 units, and the value of transactions increased by 29.8 per cent to N29.8 million from N23.2 million, while the number of deals fell by 22.6 per cent to 24 deals from 31 deals.

Great Nigeria Insurance (GNI) Plc ended the day as the most traded stock by value on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units sold for N8.4 billion, followed by CSCS Plc with 60.8 million units exchanged for N4.1 billion, and Okitipupa Plc with 27.9 million units valued at N1.9 billion.

GNI Plc also closed the session as the most traded stock by volume on a year-to-date basis with 3.4 billion units worth N8.4 billion, followed by Resourcery Plc with 1.1 billion units transacted for N415.7 million, and Infrastructure Guarantee Credit Plc with 400 million units traded for N1.2 billion.

Economy

Profit-taking Sinks Nigeria’s Equity Market by 0.76% as Bears Take Control

Published

49 minutes ago

16/05/2026

Dipo Olowookere

By Dipo Olowookere

The bears overpowered the Nigerian Exchange (NGX) Limited on Friday, sinking it further by 0.76 per cent when the closing gong was struck by 4 pm.

The nation’s flagship equity market was under selling pressure during the session, as investors booked profits after the shares witnessed price appreciation in the past trading sessions.

The energy sector was the most impacted, as it shed 4.43 per cent. The consumer goods index declined by 0.90 per cent, the banking counter decreased by 0.15 per cent, and the industrial goods sector lost 0.08 per cent, while the insurance counter gained 2.42 per cent, which was not enough to salvage the situation.

Consequently, the All-Share Index (ASI) contracted by 1,912.19 points to 250,330.92 points from 252,243.11 points, and the market capitalisation moderated by 1.225 trillion to N160.444 trillion from N161.669 trillion.

Zichis was the worst-performing stock for the session after it gave up 9.97 per cent to close at N29.43, FTN Cocoa slipped by 9.95 per cent to N8.96, The Initiates slumped by 9.90 per cent to N32.30, LivingTrust Mortgage Bank tumbled by 9.88 per cent to N3.83, and International Energy Insurance dropped 9.71 per cent to trade at N2.79.

The best-performing stock was ABC Transport, which grew by 10.00 per cent to N6.27. May and Baker also appreciated by 10.00 per cent to N47.30, SCOA Nigeria surged by 9.98 per cent to N33.05, Trans-Nationwide Express expanded by 9.97 per cent to N7.06, and DAAR Communications jumped 9.76 per cent to N2.25.

Yesterday, investors traded 1.1 billion shares worth N44.3 billion in 65,744 deals compared with the 1.0 billion shares valued at N41.6 billion transacted in 74,822 deals a day earlier. This indicated a dip in the number of deals by 12.13 per cent, and a rise in the trading volume and value by 10.00 per cent and 6.49 per cent, respectively.

Chams was the busiest equity for the day, with 328.5 million units sold for N1.1 billion. UBA traded 61.6 million units worth N2.7 billion, First Holdco transacted 58.7 million units valued at N4.2 billion, Secure Electronic Technology exchanged 51.9 million units worth N45.0 million, and Access Holdings traded 51.8 million units valued at N1.3 billion.

Economy

Naira Weakens to N1,371/$1 at Official Market

Published

1 hour ago

16/05/2026

Adedapo Adesanya

By Adedapo Adesanya

The last trading session of the week at the Nigerian Autonomous Foreign Exchange Market (NAFEX) ended on a negative note for the Naira on Friday, May 15, as it lost N15 Kobo or 0.1 per cent against the Dollar to trade at N1,371.04/$1 compared with the previous day’s N1,370.89/$1.

However, it further appreciated against the Pound Sterling in the same market segment yesterday by N20.77 to close at N1,830.61/£1 versus Thursday’s value of N1,851.38/£1, and gained N7.91 against the Euro to settle at N1,595.07/€1 versus N1,602.98/€1.

At the GTBank FX desk, the Naira lost N2 against the US Dollar during the session to sell at N1,383/$1 compared with the preceding session’s N1,381/$1, and at the black market, it remained unchanged at N1,385/$1.

The Naira is forecast to be broadly stable, supported by Dollar sales by the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) amid steady, higher oil receipts, with the ‌market settling ⁠into a balance.

Policy direction is also expected to give the market some boost as the CBN said the new edition of the FX market guidelines will deepen liquidity, improve transparency and strengthen confidence in the country’s foreign exchange market.

According to the Governor of the CBN, Mr Yemi Cardoso, the update is due to changing global economic realities, domestic reforms and the need for a more coherent and forward-looking regulatory framework. According to him, the last edition of the FX manual was issued in 2018, making the latest review both timely and necessary.

Meanwhile, the cryptocurrency market plunged into the red zone as rising bond yields hit risk assets across markets, while traders are increasingly betting the Federal Reserve may need to raise rates again. Rising energy prices and resurging inflation could force central banks back into tightening mode.

Cardano (ADA) shrank by 4.4 per cent to $0.2557, Dogecoin (DOGE) slid by 3.7 per cent to $0.1104, Ripple (XRP) depreciated by 3.5 per cent to $1.41, Solana (SOL) crashed by 3.5 per cent to $87.81, and Binance Coin (BNB) slumped by 3.4 per cent to $659.64.

Further, Bitcoin (BTC) declined by 2.6 per cent to $78,547.49, Ethereum (ETH) lost 2.1 per cent to quote at $2,209.19, and TRON (TRX) tumbled by 0.7 per cent to $0.3509, while the US Dollar Tether (USDT) and the US Dollar Coin (USDC) traded flat at $1.00 each.