Economy
Banking Stocks Shorten Investors’ Wealth by N17bn
By Dipo Olowookere
Investors in the Nigerian stock market suffered a loss of N17.3 billion on Thursday as a result of the lackluster performance of equities in the banking space.
The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) had on Tuesday directed deposit money banks in the country to effect between 2 to 5 percent charges on deposits and withdrawals from the retail and corporate customers from Wednesday, September 20, 2019, in Abuja, Lagos, Rivers, Ogun, Abia and other few states, with the policy, which it called cashless, expected to take effect in all other states of the federation from 2020.
This cashless policy was kicked against by making Nigerians, who felt it was coming at a very wrong time, especially when government was planning to increase value added tax to 7.5 percent from 5 percent next year.
At the stock market yesterday, investors having banking stocks offloaded them, resulting in the 0.13 percent decline recorded by the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE).
It pushed the All-Share Index (ASI) lower by 35.46 points to settle at 27,646.15 points and the market capitalization lower by N17.3 billion to close at 13.458 trillion.
An analysis of the sectoral performance showed that only the banking index closed in red on Thursday. The sector went down by 1.50 percent.
The best performance was the insurance sector, which rose by 2.90 percent. The consumer goods index appreciated by 0.62 percent, the energy sector finished 0.14 percent stronger, while the industrial goods index ended 0.06 percent higher.
The volume of transactions reduced yesterday by 35.33 percent to 245.4 million from 379.5 million, while the value of the trades went down by 68.69 percent to N1.7 billion from N5.3 billion.
FBN Holdings was the most traded stock, transacting 71.5 million shares worth N390.1 million, while Sterling Bank followed with 61.6 million equities worth N135.4 million.
UBA traded 12.9 million valued at N81 million, GTBank exchanged 9.2 million worth N268.9 million, while Lafarge Africa sold 9.1 million equities for N140.4 million.
GTBank emerged as the heaviest price loser on Thursday after a loss of 55 kobo to close at N29.25k per unit, while Zenith Bank lost 35 kobo to end at N19 per share.
Access Bank fell by 25 kobo to settle at N7.45k per share, Cutix depreciated by12 kobo to finish at N1.42k per share, while UBA declined by 10 kobo to close at N6.25k per share.
On the flip side, Dangote Sugar topped the gainers’ log after appreciating by 75 kobo to close at N10.55k per share, while UAC Nigeria went up by 70 kobo to finish at N7.75k per share.
PZ Cussons increased by 60 kobo to end at N7.05k per share, Dangote Flour appreciated by 35 kobo to close at N22.40k per unit, while Ecobank rose by 20 kobo to settle at N9 per share.
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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